This is a formatted version (for e-book readers or printing) of a very long blog post about secular and radical Buddhism. It discusses Stephen Batchelor’s secular Buddhism, Seno’o Giro’s radical Buddhism (as well as its roots in Mahayana philosophy; Nichiren and the Lotus Sutra in particular), and several related topics.

This published Japanese-English guidebook to the island of Shikoku, emphasizing its culture and history, has been available by permission on the Web in French, Spanish, and Dutch at European Websites, as well as this English-Japanese version since 1997. Most of the chapters are bilingual, with English and Japanese alternating for those studying…[Read more]

Mindfulness of breathing or ānāpānasati has a prominent place among the meditation methods taught by the Buddha. This doesn’t come as a surprise, if we know this is exactly the method the Teacher used to attain his own enlightenment, but also to “generally dwell during rains residence”. Therefore, he qualified this type of mental training as a n…[Read more]

Udāna is the third book of the Khuddaka Nikāya, the last of the five nikāyas in the Sutta Pitaka. It consists of eight vaggas, with ten suttas in each, 80 suttas in total. Similarly to some other books of the Pāli Canon, in this collection each sutta is a combination of prose and verses called udānas, inspired utterances or uplifting utte…[Read more]

A cultural, historical, and practical guidebook to Kagawa Prefecture on the island of Shikoku across the narrow Seto Inland Sea from the main island of Japan. Formerly the province of Sanuki, a compact area with convenient train lines, it has great potential for tourism. An active region culturally for more than 2,000 years, it was the birthplace…[Read more]

Religions are widely accessible in the digital community and Hinduism and Hindu Nationalism Online engages with some of the internet’s representations of Hinduism, with a focus primarily on political and politico-nationalist representations. Juli L. Gittinger focuses on three organizations throughout the book: Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), R…[Read more]

Religions are widely accessible in the digital community and Hinduism and Hindu Nationalism Online engages with some of the internet’s representations of Hinduism, with a focus primarily on political and politico-nationalist representations. Juli L. Gittinger focuses on three organizations throughout the book: Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), R…[Read more]

Subtitled “Symbols of Self-Realization in the Kanfugen-gyo [the meditation practice of the Lotus Sutra trilogy],” this was a presentation at the conference on Jungian Perspectives on Creativity and the Unconscious at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio in 1979. Having researched dreams and legends surrounding the Buddha, the view of the author…[Read more]

Two papers on the Jungian psychology of Asian religions from M.A. coursework at the University of Hawaii in 1978. “Equations of Freedom with Enlightenment” analyzes Chinese Buddhism, Taoism, and Zen as to the meaning of liberation. Then “This World as a Symbolic Body of the Buddha” analyzes the Shingon Buddhist cosmology of Kukai and its Tantric…[Read more]

Hashikuradera, the inner sanctuary of Kompira-san on Shikoku island, defied the Meiji government and has kept Buddhism and Shinto on the same hallway to this day. This old map depicts the syncretic divinity Kompira Daigongen whirling through the air from Kompira-san or Elephant’s Head Mountain (upper left) to meet Kukai, just labeled the great…[Read more]

Introduction to special issue of IJHS: The Gift in India in Theory and Practice

Introduction to special issue of IJHS: The Gift in India in Theory and Practice

During nonemergency appointments at traditional sites of āyurvedic healthcare in Kerala, South India, classically trained Brāhmaṇa physicians and their patients seldom exchange anything of substance (whether medicinal or monetary). The physician-patient interface instead routinely involves an exchange of knowledge. Interactions between phy…[Read more]

Yoga-Taravali of Acharya Shankara
Translated by Swami Narasimhananda

Yoga-Taravali of Acharya Shankara
Translated by Swami Narasimhananda

This book is an example of how well cultural history can be written along with a critical analysis of textual sources. This book explores the various facets of the Hindu Brahmin identity and its relevance in the present. This book is a great resource for scholars of Sanskrit, Hinduism, mythology, social stratification, folklore, performance,…[Read more]

This book is an example of how well cultural history can be written along with a critical analysis of textual sources. This book explores the various facets of the Hindu Brahmin identity and its relevance in the present. This book is a great resource for scholars of Sanskrit, Hinduism, mythology, social stratification, folklore, performance,…[Read more]

A review of the translation of Uttara Gita by Minati Kar published by the Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Kolkata, India. Though brief, the Uttara-gita clearly explains the nature of the Atman and the method to realize it,primarily through yoga. This book serves as a supplementary text to the Bhagavadgita. It is a text that inspires…[Read more]

A review of the translation of Uttara Gita by Minati Kar published by the Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Kolkata, India. Though brief, the Uttara-gita clearly explains the nature of the Atman and the method to realize it,primarily through yoga. This book serves as a supplementary text to the Bhagavadgita. It is a text that inspires…[Read more]

Book Review Tragic Views of the Human Condition: Cross-Cultural Comparisons between Views of Human Nature in Greek and Shakespearean Tragedy and the Mahabharata and Bhagavadgita by Lourens Minnema, Prabuddha Bharata March 2015