Head, Eyes, Flesh, and Blood

Head, Eyes, Flesh, and Blood
Author: Reiko Ohnuma
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Total Pages: 393
Release: 2007
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 0231137087

Head, Eyes, Flesh, and Blood is the first comprehensive study of a central narrative theme in premodern South Asian Buddhist literature: the Buddha's bodily self-sacrifice during his previous lives as a bodhisattva. Conducting close readings of stories from Sanskrit, Pali, Chinese, and Tibetan literature written between the third century BCE and the late medieval period, Reiko Ohnuma argues that this theme has had a major impact on the development of Buddhist philosophy and culture. Whether he takes the form of king, prince, ascetic, elephant, hare, serpent, or god, the bodhisattva repeatedly gives his body or parts of his flesh to others. He leaps into fires, drowns himself in the ocean, rips out his tusks, gouges out his eyes, and lets mosquitoes drink from his blood, always out of selflessness and compassion and to achieve the highest state of Buddhahood. Ohnuma places these stories into a discrete subgenre of South Asian Buddhist literature and approaches them like case studies, analyzing their plots, characterizations, and rhetoric. She then relates the theme of the Buddha's bodily self-sacrifice to major conceptual discourses in the history of Buddhism and South Asian religions, such as the categories of the gift, the body (both ordinary and extraordinary), kingship, sacrifice, ritual offering, and death. Head, Eyes, Flesh, and Blood reveals a very sophisticated and influential perception of the body in South Asian Buddhist literature and highlights the way in which these stories have provided an important cultural resource for Buddhists. Combined with her rich and careful translations of classic texts, Ohnuma introduces a whole new understanding of a vital concept in Buddhists studies.

Head and Heart

Head and Heart
Author: Mary Storm
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 430
Release: 2015-08-12
Genre: History
ISBN: 1317325575

An extensive study of self-sacrificial images in Indian art, this book examines concepts such as head-offering, human sacrifice, blood, suicide, valour, self-immolation, and self-giving in the context of religion and politics to explore why these images were produced and how they became paradigms of heroism.

Martyrdom, Self-Sacrifice, and Self-Immolation

Martyrdom, Self-Sacrifice, and Self-Immolation
Author: Margo Kitts
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 361
Release: 2018-05-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0190656514

Suicide in the forms of martyrdom, self-sacrifice, or self-immolation is perennially controversial: Should it rightly be termed suicide? Does religion sanction it? Should it be celebrated or anathematized? At least some idealization of such self-chosen deaths is found in every religious tradition treated in this volume, from ascetic heroes who conquer their passions to save others by dying, to righteous warriors who suffer and die valiantly while challenging the status quo. At the same time, there are persistent disputes about the concepts used to justify these deaths, such as altruism, heroism, and religion itself. In this volume, renowned scholars bring their literary and historical expertise to bear on the contested issue of religiously sanctioned suicide. Three examine contemporary movements with disputed classical roots, while eleven look at classical religious literatures which variously laud and disparage figures who invite self-harm to the point of death. Overall, the volume offers an important scholarly corrective to the axiom that religious traditions simply and always embrace life at any cost.

Buddhist Ethics and the Bodhisattva Path

Buddhist Ethics and the Bodhisattva Path
Author: Stephen Harris
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 305
Release: 2023-10-19
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1350379565

Santideva's 8th century Mahayana Buddhist classic, the Guide to the Practices of Awakening (Bodhicaryavatara), has been a source of philosophical inspiration in the Indian and Tibetan traditions for over a thousand years. Stephen Harris guides us through a philosophical exploration of Santideva's masterpiece, introducing us to his understanding of the compassionate bodhisattva, who vows to liberate the entire universe from suffering. Individual chapters provide studies of the bodhisattva virtues of generosity, patience, compassion, and wisdom, illustrating the role each plays in Santideva's account of well-being and moral development. Harris also provides in-depth analysis of many of Santideva's most influential arguments, demonstrating how he employs reasoning as a method to cultivate moral character. As the first book-length English language philosophical study of Santideva's most influential text, this will be essential reading for students and scholars of Buddhist ethics, as well as for anyone interested in intercultural ethics and the philosophy of well-being.

Asian Perspectives on Animal Ethics

Asian Perspectives on Animal Ethics
Author: Neil Dalal
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 225
Release: 2014-04-16
Genre: Pets
ISBN: 1317749952

To date, philosophical discussions of animal ethics and Critical Animal Studies have been dominated by Western perspectives and Western thinkers. This book makes a novel contribution to animal ethics in showing the range and richness of ideas offered to these fields by diverse Asian traditions. Asian Perspectives on Animal Ethics is the first of its kind to include the intersection of Asian and European traditions with respect to human and nonhuman relations. Presenting a series of studies focusing on specific Asian traditions, as well as studies that put those traditions in dialogue with Western thinkers, this book looks at Asian philosophical doctrines concerning compassion and nonviolence as these apply to nonhuman animals, as well as the moral rights and status of nonhuman animals in Asian traditions. Using Asian perspectives to explore ontological, ethical and political questions, contributors analyze humanism and post-humanism in Asian and comparative traditions and offer insight into the special ethical relations between humans and other particular species of animals. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of Asian religion and philosophy, as well as to those interested in animal ethics and Critical Animal Studies.

Seventh Circle: A Forced Proximity Forbidden Lovers Vampire Paranormal Romance

Seventh Circle: A Forced Proximity Forbidden Lovers Vampire Paranormal Romance
Author: Felicity Heaton
Publisher: Felicity Heaton Paranormal Romances
Total Pages: 397
Release: 2014-03-24
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1909306223

New York Times and USA Today Best-selling paranormal romance author Felicity Heaton presents Seventh Circle (Vampires Realm Romance Series Book 4) Born with powers similar to a vampire’s, Lilith has spent her life hunting demons for Section Seven. On the same night as she watches a vampire kill her best friend, she is faced with her worst nightmare—a client who is not only attractive but a vampire. Lincoln is a powerful pureblood with a problem. He’s caught up in a prophecy and has little time left to unravel the mystery of the contract between his lord and the Devil before he dies. When witches foretell that a vampire hunter will save his life, he’s prepared to work with his most hated enemy, but he isn’t prepared for the forbidden desire he feels when he meets her. Their mutual attraction becomes difficult to deny as they work together but when Lincoln reveals the truth about her powers, will Lilith find the strength to embrace a side of herself that she wished didn’t exist? And when they discover Lilith’s role in the prophecy, how far will Lincoln go to save her? Dark, sensual and fast-paced, Seventh Circle is a story of forbidden love so strong that it will save the world. Seventh Circle is the fourth novel in the Vampires Realm romance series. This vampire romance features a vampire hero caught up in a prophecy, a vampire hunter heroine who would rather remove his head than work with him, an enemies-to-lovers romance, with a cast of vampires, demons, and more, plus lots of action and adventure--and steamy scenes! All Vampires Realm books have no cliffhangers, a guaranteed happily ever after, and some strong language. Enjoy! Books in the Vampires Realm Romance Series Book 1: Prophecy: Child of Light Book 2: Prophecy: Caelestis and Aurorea Book 3: Dark Moon Rising Book 3.1: Spellbound Book 3.5: Reunion Book 4: Seventh Circle Book 5: Winter’s Kiss Book 6: Hunter’s Moon Book 7: Masquerade Book 8: Hunger keywords: paranormal, paranormal romance, paranormal romance books for adults, vampire, vampires, vampire romance, vampire romance books, vampire romance series, immortals, immortal romance, fantasy romance, alpha hero, strong heroine, action, long series, adventure, no cliffhangers, guaranteed HEA, happily ever after

The Book of Samurai

The Book of Samurai
Author: Antony Cummins
Publisher: Watkins Media Limited
Total Pages: 425
Release: 2015-10-20
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1780288883

The first installment in a multi-volume guide on the lost arts of the samurai—presented in the English language for the very first time Antony Cummins and Yoshie Minami have brought the teachings of the famed samurai school Natori-Ryu back to life through The Book of Samurai series. This first installment is a translation of two secret scrolls and establishes the Fundamental Teachings of a samurai student, revealing the basic traditions of Natori-Ryu. The first scroll, Heika Jodan, contains 290 lessons that define the baseline for samurai during times of peace—a time which is considered as preparation for war. It focuses each student on expanding their own ability and conduct, giving them the mind-set needed for any battles to come. The second scroll, Ippei Yoko, moves the student onto the field of battle. It provides them with an understanding of what is expected during a campaign of war and the necessary guidance for samurai who are to take up arms for the first time. These first two Natori-Ryu documents are an in-depth and detailed account of the practicality of samurai warfare, opening up the lost world of these Japanese warriors to all modern readers.

A Bull of a Man

A Bull of a Man
Author: John Powers
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 335
Release: 2009-10-19
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0674054431

The androgynous, asexual Buddha of contemporary popular imagination stands in stark contrast to the muscular, virile, and sensual figure presented in Indian Buddhist texts. In early Buddhist literature and art, the Buddha’s perfect physique and sexual prowess are important components of his legend as the world’s “ultimate man.” He is both the scholarly, religiously inclined brahman and the warrior ruler who excels in martial arts, athletic pursuits, and sexual exploits. The Buddha effortlessly performs these dual roles, combining his society’s norms for ideal manhood and creating a powerful image taken up by later followers in promoting their tradition in a hotly contested religious marketplace. In this groundbreaking study of previously unexplored aspects of the early Buddhist tradition, John Powers skillfully adapts methodological approaches from European and North American historiography to the study of early Buddhist literature, art, and iconography, highlighting aspects of the tradition that have been surprisingly invisible in earlier scholarship. The book focuses on the figure of the Buddha and his monastic followers to show how they were constructed as paragons of masculinity, whose powerful bodies and compelling sexuality attracted women, elicited admiration from men, and convinced skeptics of their spiritual attainments.

Nature-study

Nature-study
Author: Henry Dircks
Publisher:
Total Pages: 334
Release: 1870
Genre: Literature and science
ISBN:

Living Karma

Living Karma
Author: Beverley Foulks McGuire
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Total Pages: 242
Release: 2014-09-09
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0231168020

Ouyi Zhixu (1599Ð1655) was an eminent Chinese Buddhist monk who, contrary to his contemporaries, believed karma could be changed. Through vows, divination, repentance rituals, and ascetic acts such as burning and blood writing, he sought to alter what others understood as inevitable and inescapable. Drawing attention to OuyiÕs unique reshaping of religious practice, Living Karma reasserts the significance of an overlooked individual in the modern development of Chinese Buddhism. While Buddhist studies scholarship tends to privilege textual analysis, Living Karma promotes a balanced study of ritual practice and writing, treating OuyiÕs texts as ritual objects and his reading and writing as religious acts. Each chapter addresses a specific religious practiceÑwriting, divination, repentance, vows, and bodily ritualsÑoffering first a diachronic overview of each practice within the history of Chinese Buddhism and then a synchronic analysis of each phenomenon through close readings of OuyiÕs work. The book sheds much-needed light on this little-known figure and his representation of karma, which proved to be a seminal innovation in the religious thought of late imperial China.