Journey into Burmese Silence

Journey into Burmese Silence
Author: Marie Byles
Publisher: Pariyatti
Total Pages: 244
Release: 2020
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1938754395

Born in Ashton upon Mersey, Cheshire, UK in 1900, Marie Beuzeville Byles is best known to Vipassana meditators for her practice of meditation. In Journey Into Burmese Silence (George Allen & Unwin Ltd, 1962), she traces her own story as she first travels to Burma and comes in contact with Vipassana Meditation and then how she returns several times more later in her life to strengthen her practice. At the Maha Bodhi Meditation Centre in Mandalay, she became the student of U Thein who taught as a lay teacher in the tradition of Saya Thet Gyi. U Thein forms the centre of a group of devoted friends that sustain Marie in her struggle and lead her on a pilgrimage of meditation centres across Burma. Byles' book is a detailed account of the many Burmese practices going by the name ‘Vipassana’. It is a valuable and inspiring book for any truth seeker.

Journeys of Transformation

Journeys of Transformation
Author: John D. Barbour
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 343
Release: 2022-03-31
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1009116231

Western Buddhist travel narratives are autobiographical accounts of a journey to a Buddhist culture. Dozens of such narratives have since the 1970s describe treks in Tibet, periods of residence in a Zen monastery, pilgrimages to Buddhist sites and teachers, and other Asian odysseys. The best known of these works is Peter Matthiessen's The Snow Leopard; further reflections emerge from thirty writers including John Blofeld, Jan Van de Wetering, Thomas Merton, Oliver Statler, Robert Thurman, Gretel Ehrlich, and Bill Porter. The Buddhist concept of 'no-self' helps these authors interpret certain pivotal experiences of 'unselfing' and is also a catalyst that provokes and enables such events. The writers' spiritual memoirs describe how their journeys brought about a new understanding of Buddhist enlightenment and so transformed their lives. Showing how travel can elicit self-transformation, this book is a compelling exploration of the journeys and religious changes of both individuals and Buddhism itself.

Mental Culture in Burmese Crisis Politics

Mental Culture in Burmese Crisis Politics
Author: Gustaaf Houtman
Publisher: ILCAA
Total Pages: 335
Release: 1999
Genre: Buddhism
ISBN: 4872977483

An examination of the current political crisis in Burma, and in particular its Buddhist and socio-psychological aspects.

Quiet Mind, The

Quiet Mind, The
Author: John E. Coleman
Publisher: Pariyatti Publishing
Total Pages: 219
Release: 2012-11-01
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 1938754220

A fascinating, engaging, and unique memoir, this story covers John Coleman’s life after his cover is blown as a CIA agent in Asia in the late 1950s, leading him to embark on a vigorous pursuit of spiritual truth. In his travels through India, Burma, Japan, and Thailand, he encounters luminous teachers such as Krishnamurti, Maharishi, and D.T. Suzuki. Ultimately, his search for peace of mind and liberating insights comes to fruition in Yangon—also known as Rangoon—under the tutelage of the great Vipassana meditation master Sayagyi U Ba Khin.

Renunciation and Empowerment of Buddhist Nuns in Myanmar-Burma

Renunciation and Empowerment of Buddhist Nuns in Myanmar-Burma
Author: Hiroko Kawanami
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 270
Release: 2013-02-28
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9004245723

Myanmar-Burma has one of the largest concentrations of Buddhist nuns and monks in the world today. In Renunciation and Empowerment of Buddhist Nuns in Myanmar-Burma, Kawanami traces the nun's scholarly lineage in modern Myanmar history and examines their contemporary religious position in Myanmar’s social and political contexts. Although their religious status may appear ambiguous from a textual viewpoint, it is argued that their large presence is a clear indication as to the important functions Buddhist nuns perform in the monastic community. Sagaing Hill where the main research was conducted, occupies an important educational centre for Myanmar nuns in consolidating their scholarly lineage and spreading the network of dhamma teachers. The book examines transactions that take place in their everyday lives and reveals the essence of their religious lives that make Buddhist nuns an essential bridge between sangha and society.

Myanmar (Burma) since the 1988 Uprising

Myanmar (Burma) since the 1988 Uprising
Author: Andrew Selth
Publisher: ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute
Total Pages: 370
Release: 2022-01-24
Genre: Reference
ISBN: 9814951781

Updated by popular demand, this is the fourth edition of this important bibliography. It lists a wide selection of works on or about Myanmar published in English and in hard copy since the 1988 pro-democracy uprising, which marked the beginning of a new era in Myanmar’s modern history. There are now 2,727 titles listed. They have been written, edited, translated or compiled by over 2,000 people, from many different backgrounds. These works have been organized into thirty-five subject chapters containing ninety-five discrete sections. There are also four appendices, including a comprehensive reading guide for those unfamiliar with Myanmar or who may be seeking guidance on particular topics. This book is an invaluable aid to officials, scholars, journalists, armchair travellers and others with an interest in this fascinating but deeply troubled country.

Emerging Voices

Emerging Voices
Author: Huping Ling
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
Total Pages: 279
Release: 2008-12-30
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0813546257

While a growing number of popular and scholarly works focus on Asian Americans, most are devoted to the experiences of larger groups such as Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino, and Indian Americans. As the field grows, there is a pressing need to understand the smaller and more recent immigrant communities. Emerging Voices fills this gap with its unique and compelling discussion of underrepresented groups, including Burmese, Indonesian, Mong, Hmong, Nepalese, Romani, Tibetan, and Thai Americans. Unlike the earlier and larger groups of Asian immigrants to America, many of whom made the choice to emigrate to seek better economic opportunities, many of the groups discussed in this volume fled war or political persecution in their homeland. Forced to make drastic transitions in America with little physical or psychological preparation, questions of “why am I here,” “who am I,” and “why am I discriminated against,” remain at the heart of their post-emigration experiences. Bringing together eminent scholars from a variety of disciplines, this collection considers a wide range of themes, including assimilation and adaptation, immigration patterns, community, education, ethnicity, economics, family, gender, marriage, religion, sexuality, and work.

Faith

Faith
Author: Sharon Salzberg
Publisher: HarperThorsons
Total Pages: 176
Release: 2003-08-04
Genre: Buddhists
ISBN: 9780007151141

Faith is a word that is often misunderstood - we may think the innocent lucky few have it while the rest of us couldn't possibly, or that we have to give up independence to attain it. In this book, Sharon Salzberg strips away negative conceptions that dismiss faith as being divisive or requiring blind adherence to a belief system. She offers advice on understanding faith as a healing quality that is grounded in common sense, intelligence and, most importantly, our own experience.

Mindful America

Mindful America
Author: Jeff Wilson
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 281
Release: 2014
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 0199827818

Jeff Wilson explores the diverse ways in which the Buddhist-derived practice of mindfulness meditation has been applied in American culture.