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A Tale of Two Stūpas: Diverging Paths in the Revival of Buddhism in China
by Albert WelterHangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Province, and the surrounding environs have one of the richest Buddhist cultures in China. In A Tale of Two Stūpas, Albert Welter tells the story of Hangzhou Buddhism through the conceptions, erections, and resurrections of Yongming Stupa, dedicated to the memory of one of Hangzhou's leading Buddhist figures, and Leifeng Pagoda, built to house stupa relics of the historical Buddha. Welter delves into the intricacies of these two sites and pays particular attention to their origins and rebirths. These sites have suffered devastation and endured long periods of neglect, yet both have been resurrected and re-resurrected during their histories and have resumed meaningful places in the contemporary Hangzhou landscape, a mark of their power and endurance. A Tale of Two Stūpas adopts a site-specific, regional approach in order to show how the dynamics of initial conception, resurrection, and re-resurrection work, and what that might tell us about the nature of Hangzhou and Chinese Buddhism.
A Tale of Two Stūpas: Diverging Paths in the Revival of Buddhism in China
by Albert WelterHangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Province, and the surrounding environs have one of the richest Buddhist cultures in China. In A Tale of Two Stūpas, Albert Welter tells the story of Hangzhou Buddhism through the conceptions, erections, and resurrections of Yongming Stupa, dedicated to the memory of one of Hangzhou's leading Buddhist figures, and Leifeng Pagoda, built to house stupa relics of the historical Buddha. Welter delves into the intricacies of these two sites and pays particular attention to their origins and rebirths. These sites have suffered devastation and endured long periods of neglect, yet both have been resurrected and re-resurrected during their histories and have resumed meaningful places in the contemporary Hangzhou landscape, a mark of their power and endurance. A Tale of Two Stūpas adopts a site-specific, regional approach in order to show how the dynamics of initial conception, resurrection, and re-resurrection work, and what that might tell us about the nature of Hangzhou and Chinese Buddhism.
Talent
by Juliet Lapidos‘Deliciously funny’ Helen Oyeyemi ‘Enormously entertaining’ Lionel Shriver ‘Smart, brilliant … I love it so much!’ Joanna Cannon A wickedly caustic tale of a student who stumbles on a literary treasure.
The Talents of Jacopo da Varagine: A Genoese Mind in Medieval Europe
by Steven A. EpsteinJacopo da Varagine (c. 1228–1298) is remembered today primarily for his immensely popular work The Golden Legend, a massive collection of stories about the saints. Compiled over the years 1260–67, The Golden Legend quickly eclipsed earlier collections of saints’ lives. One indication of its popularity is the fact that so many manuscript copies of the work have survived—more than one thousand according to some estimates. Despite the enduring influence of The Golden Legend, Jacopo remains an elusive figure because he left behind so little information about himself. In The Talents of Jacopo da Varagine, Steven A. Epstein sets out to remedy this situation through a careful study of all Jacopo’s works, including many hundreds of sermons and his innovative chronicle of Genoese history. In Epstein’s sure hands, Jacopo emerges as one of the most active and talented minds of his day. Indeed, Epstein argues that one needs to read all of Jacopo’s books, in a Genoese context, in order to understand the original scope of his thinking, which greatly influenced the ways generations of people across Europe experienced their Christianity. The rich sources for Jacopo’s sermons, saints’ lives, and history illuminate the traditions that inspired him and shaped his imaginative and artistic powers. Jacopo was also one of the inventors of social history, and his writings reveal complex and new perspectives on family life as well as the histories of gay people, slaves, Jews, and the medieval economy. Filled with impressive insights into the intellectual life of the thirteenth century, The Talents of Jacopo da Varagine will be of interest to a wide range of medieval scholars and students of religious history, church history, and hagiography as well as intellectual history and Italian history.
Tales for Twilight: Two Hundred Years of Scottish Ghost Stories
by Alistair KerrTales for Twilight offers a spine-tingling selection of unnerving tales by writers from James Hogg in the early eighteenth century to James Robertson, very much alive in the twenty-first. Scottish authors have proved to be exceptionally good at writing ghost stories.Perhaps it’s because of the tradition of oral storytelling that has stretched over centuries, including poems and ballads with supernatural themes. The golden age was during the Victorian and Edwardian period, but the ghost story has continued to evolve and remains popular to this day.Includes stories from Sir Walter Scott, George Mackay Brown, Muriel Spark, Margaret Oliphant, Robert Louis Stevenson, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Guy Boothby, Algernon Blackwood, Eileen Bigland, Ronald Duncan, James Robertson and Ian Rankin.
Tales From a Zen Kitchen
by Florencia CliffordI have learned to notice the splendour of life even in the slimiest of creatures. I have found beauty in what I used to perceive as ugly. Slowly I have learned to love that which is difficult to love, both in myself and in others. Florencia Clifford is a zen cook. In this evocative and powerful book, we move seamlessly from Buddhist retreats in an isolated farmhouse in mid-Wales, to the hills of Florencia's childhood in Argentina, and back again. She describes her experiences in sensual detail: the subtle and magical shifts in herself, the seasons, and the people around her. Along the way, she shares her insights and many delicious vegetarian recipes. This is a journey of cooking and healing, taking us into a deep and luminous understanding of the food she prepares, and of the world around us. It tells of the growth of love, as the author learns to care for all beings, including the slugs in the title. This book features twenty original illustrations by artist Michaela Meadow.
Tales From a Zen Kitchen (PDF)
by Florencia CliffordI have learned to notice the splendour of life even in the slimiest of creatures. I have found beauty in what I used to perceive as ugly. Slowly I have learned to love that which is difficult to love, both in myself and in others. Florencia Clifford is a zen cook. In this evocative and powerful book, we move seamlessly from Buddhist retreats in an isolated farmhouse in mid-Wales, to the hills of Florencia's childhood in Argentina, and back again. She describes her experiences in sensual detail: the subtle and magical shifts in herself, the seasons, and the people around her. Along the way, she shares her insights and many delicious vegetarian recipes. This is a journey of cooking and healing, taking us into a deep and luminous understanding of the food she prepares, and of the world around us. It tells of the growth of love, as the author learns to care for all beings, including the slugs in the title. This book features twenty original illustrations by artist Michaela Meadow.
Tales from an Irish Barber Shop: Short Back and Sides
by Peter QuinnThere is something about barber shop conversations that sets them apart from the usual small talk.These exchanges are enjoyed on both sides of the chair. Here is a range of stories from funny to eye opening.Peter Quinn is a Dublin barber with a keen ear for a good story. This quirky collection of exchanges with his customers range from funny to eye opening, covering everything from the weather and the economy to the fall of the church and the spiralling cost of NAMA. Yet each tale is as individual as the customer and his hairstyle.
Tales of a Country Parish: From the vicar of Savernake Forest
by Colin Heber-Percy'A delightful book from a gentle, generous spirit.' - SIMON RUSSELL BEALE'Philosophical speculation, country lore, rock music, spiritual exploration, erudite and beautifully written, this collection of reflections and meditations is a surprise and a delight. The kind of shot in the arm the Church of England badly needs - and is so rarely to be found.' - SALLEY VICKERSDuring the unprecedented circumstances of Spring 2020, Colin Heber Percy began writing a daily newsletter of reflections and uplifting stories to stay in touch with his parishioners. Word spread, and soon his bulletins were being eagerly consumed by readers around the country and beyond.In this thought-provoking and invigorating book, Heber-Percy draws upon a kaleidoscopic knowledge of nature, philosophy, poetry and music, as well as religious writings, and interlaces them with amusing and touching vignettes from his Wiltshire parish.As he follows the changing seasons, Heber-Percy moves from the seemingly small and mundane to ponder big life questions - can you find heaven in a Londis shop, why is the Bible not like the Highway Code, what on earth we are all doing here - while gently offering up wisdom and sustenance for all, regardless of faith and creed.
Tales of Darkness: The Mythology of Evil
by Robert EllwoodEvil, an undeniable yet inexplicable force in human existence, is often defined as that which ought not to be, yet is - so it must be destroyed, or contained, or lived with. Myths of evil function to universalize the human condition, to show the tension between the ideal and the real, to reveal but not allegorize that condition, and to go some way to assist humanity in understanding, combating, and coping with evil within its societies. Tales of Darkness explores the causes of evil in myth, encompassing themes such as defilement, the figure of the trickster, evil people both within and outside the society, and traumatic initiations. Robert Ellwood then looks at "cures" for evil: laughter, sacrifice, the flood, the hero's quest, initiation, the savior, divine wisdom and the end of days. This is a fascinating examination of how people have dealt with evil, not philosophically but in terms of the myths, ancient and modern, which present stories convergent with our own, from creation myths to Star Wars.
Tales of Haunted Places (Ghost Chronicles Ser.)
by David & Charles EditorsThe ultimate 'haunted house' collection of ghost stories. This book is full of terrifying tales of ghostly happenings in various castles, cemeteries and battlefields. Spine-tingling tales including the Strange Visitor of Covent Garden.
Tales of Justice and Rituals of Divine Embodiment: Oral Narratives from the Central Himalayas
by Aditya MalikBased on extensive ethnographic fieldwork conducted in the Central Himalayan region of Kumaon, Tales of Justice and Rituals of Divine Embodiment draws on oral and written narratives, stories, testimonies, and rituals told and performed in relation to the "God of Justice," Goludev, and other regional deities. The book seeks to answer several questions: How is the concept of justice defined in South Asia? Why do devotees seek out Goludev for the resolution of matters of justice instead of using the secular courts? What are the sociological and political consequences of situating divine justice within a secular, democratic, modern context? Moreover, how do human beings locate themselves within the indeterminateness and struggles of their everyday existence? What is the place of language and ritual in creating intimacy and self? How is justice linked to intimacy, truth, and being human? The stories and narratives in this book revolve around Goludev's own story and deeds, as well as hundreds of petitions (manauti) written on paper that devotees hang on his temple walls, and rituals (jagar) that involve spirit possession and the embodiment of the deity through designated mediums. The jagars are powerful, extraordinary experiences, mesmerizing because of their intensity but also because of what they imply in terms of how we conceptualize being human with the seemingly limitless potential to shift, alter, and transform ourselves through language and ritual practice. The petitions, though silent and absent of the singing, drumming, and choreography that accompany jagars, are equally powerful because of their candid and intimate testimony to the aspirations, breakdowns, struggles, and breakthroughs that circumscribe human existence.
Tales of Lights and Shadows: Mythology of the Afterlife
by Robert EllwoodTales of Lights and Shadows offers a fresh approach to the traditional mythology and literature of the afterlife, centering on tensions and polarities in the afterlife concepts: bright vs. dismal, heaven vs. reincarnation, theocentric vs. anthropocentric heaven, etc. Presenting examples from virtually all the world's religious cultures past and present, this fascinating book puts the concepts clearly in the context of the worldview and social issues of that society.Robert Ellwood depicts the many rich mythologies of the afterlife from the ancient Mesopotamians, Japanese, Greeks of the Homeric era, to Christian views of heaven or the Buddhist western paradise. He explores views of the concept of reincarnation as well as the arduous preparation for the afterlife that must be taken in some traditions. Ellwood concludes by looking at the way varying views of the afterlife influence religious and even secular culture, and how in turn culture can influence the popular heavens and hells of the time and place.
Taliban: The Power of Militant Islam in Afghanistan and Beyond (Basic Ser. #Vol. 59)
by Ahmed RashidThe American bombing of terrorist bases in Afghanistan under the protection of the Islamic fundamentalist Taliban movement has brought the Taliban into sharp focus as the most radical and extreme Islamic movement in the world today. Little is known about the Taliban because of the deep secrecy that surrounds their political movement, their leaders and their aims.The geo-strategic implications of the Taliban are already creating severe instability in Russia, Iran and the five Central Asian republics where the Taliban have become a major player in the new Great Game, as Western countries and companies compete to build oil and gas pipelines from Central Asia to Western and Asian markets.The Taliban's implementation of their extreme interpretation of Islam poses new challenges to the Muslim world and the West's understanding of radical Islam in the post-Cold War era.'This is an impressive and eminently readable analysis of the Taliban movement, of its background and impact on Afghanistan, and of the wider regional and geopolitical implications of the Taliban's advent to power. The author himself is especially well placed to provide this account, having covered Afghanistan itself for two decades and having direct access to policy-makers in Pakistan, Iran and Central Asia. This is not the first book to be written on the Taliban, or Afghanistan in the 1990s. It promises, however, to be by far the strongest. It would be hard to see how anyone could rival the range and details of this account: this bids well to be the leading book on the subject.' - Professor Fred Halliday, London School of EconomicsTaliban: Islam, Oil and the New Great Game was runner-up in the prestigious annual British-Kuwait Friendship Society Prize, administered by the British Society for Middle Eastern Studies.
Taliban: The Power of Militant Islam in Afghanistan and Beyond
by Ahmed RashidA #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Following the U.S-Taliban peace deal of February 2020 - and the U.S's promised withdrawal from Afghanistan - the Taliban began terrorizing Afghan security forces, civilians and the government in Kabul. By August 2021, the group had seized control of the entire country.Taliban is a New York Times bestseller by the award-winning journalist Ahmed Rashid. Now considered a modern classic, the book provides rare insight into the history of the Taliban, their political movement, their leaders and their aims. This authoritative account is renowned for being able to explain one of the world's most extreme organizations from their inception in northern Pakistan in the early 1990s to their rise to power. In doing so, Rashid closely details their impact on Afghanistan, the Middle East and Central Asia, and how and why the Taliban spread, including their relationship with both Al-Qaeda and the U.S. The book has sold more than 1.5 million copies worldwide and has been translated into over 40 languages. This third edition marks twenty years since the U.S. invaded Afghanistan and the author adds a new introduction to reflect on how the group regained their strength, the humanitarian crisis, and what Taliban rule is likely to mean for the region and the world.
Taliban: The Power of Militant Islam in Afghanistan and Beyond
by Ahmed RashidA #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Following the U.S-Taliban peace deal of February 2020 - and the U.S's promised withdrawal from Afghanistan - the Taliban began terrorizing Afghan security forces, civilians and the government in Kabul. By August 2021, the group had seized control of the entire country.Taliban is a New York Times bestseller by the award-winning journalist Ahmed Rashid. Now considered a modern classic, the book provides rare insight into the history of the Taliban, their political movement, their leaders and their aims. This authoritative account is renowned for being able to explain one of the world's most extreme organizations from their inception in northern Pakistan in the early 1990s to their rise to power. In doing so, Rashid closely details their impact on Afghanistan, the Middle East and Central Asia, and how and why the Taliban spread, including their relationship with both Al-Qaeda and the U.S. The book has sold more than 1.5 million copies worldwide and has been translated into over 40 languages. This third edition marks twenty years since the U.S. invaded Afghanistan and the author adds a new introduction to reflect on how the group regained their strength, the humanitarian crisis, and what Taliban rule is likely to mean for the region and the world.
The Taliban and the Crisis of Afghanistan
by Robert D. Crews and Amin TarziThe Taliban remain one of the most elusive forces in modern history. A ragtag collection of clerics and madrasa students, this obscure movement emerged out of the rubble of the Cold War to shock the world with their draconian Islamic order. The Taliban refused to surrender their vision even when confronted by the United States after September 11, 2001. Reinventing themselves as part of a broad insurgency that destabilized Afghanistan, they pledged to drive out the Americans, NATO, and their allies and restore their "Islamic Emirate." The Taliban and the Crisis of Afghanistan explores the paradox at the center of this challenging phenomenon: how has a seemingly anachronistic band of religious zealots managed to retain a tenacious foothold in the struggle for Afghanistan's future? Grounding their analysis in a deep understanding of the country's past, leading scholars of Afghan history, politics, society, and culture show how the Taliban was less an attempt to revive a medieval theocracy than a dynamic, complex, and adaptive force rooted in the history of Afghanistan and shaped by modern international politics. Shunning journalistic accounts of its conspiratorial origins, the essays investigate broader questions relating to the character of the Taliban, its evolution over time, and its capacity to affect the future of the region. Offering an invaluable guide to "what went wrong" with the American reconstruction project in Afghanistan, this book accounts for the persistence of a powerful and enigmatic movement while simultaneously mapping Afghanistan's enduring political crisis.
Talking about God: The Concept of Analogy and the Problem of Religious Language (Transcending Boundaries in Philosophy and Theology)
by Roger M. WhiteA fundamental question for theology is the question how we are to understand the claims that we make about God. The only language we can understand is the language we use to talk about human beings and their environment. How can we use that language to talk about God while respecting the infinite difference between God and humanity? The traditional answer has been to appeal to the concept of analogy. However, that appeal has been interpreted in widely different ways. This book aims to clarify the question and this answer by an analysis of the concept. It begins with an exploration of the way the concept was evolved by Aristotle out of Greek mathematics as a technique for comparing "things that were remote"; followed by a critical examination of three very different classical accounts of the way religious language works: those of Thomas Aquinas, Immanuel Kant and Karl Barth. The book finally investigates the way in which analogy could be applied to answer the question initially posed - how is it possible to use human language to talk about God. This is a question of fundamental significance for the whole of religion and theology, concerning as it does our whole understanding of what we mean when we talk about God.
Talking about God: The Concept of Analogy and the Problem of Religious Language (Transcending Boundaries in Philosophy and Theology)
by Roger M. WhiteA fundamental question for theology is the question how we are to understand the claims that we make about God. The only language we can understand is the language we use to talk about human beings and their environment. How can we use that language to talk about God while respecting the infinite difference between God and humanity? The traditional answer has been to appeal to the concept of analogy. However, that appeal has been interpreted in widely different ways. This book aims to clarify the question and this answer by an analysis of the concept. It begins with an exploration of the way the concept was evolved by Aristotle out of Greek mathematics as a technique for comparing "things that were remote"; followed by a critical examination of three very different classical accounts of the way religious language works: those of Thomas Aquinas, Immanuel Kant and Karl Barth. The book finally investigates the way in which analogy could be applied to answer the question initially posed - how is it possible to use human language to talk about God. This is a question of fundamental significance for the whole of religion and theology, concerning as it does our whole understanding of what we mean when we talk about God.
Talking About Spirituality in Health Care Practice: A Resource for the Multi-Professional Health Care Team
by Gillian WhiteGillian White draws on her experiences and proposes that multi-professional health care teams should talk about spirituality in challenging but safe environments to develop shared understanding of it, and to increase their confidence about integrating spiritual care into their daily practise.
Talking Donkeys and Wheels of Fire: Bible Stories That are Truly Bizarre
by J. Stephen LangBible trivia expert J. Stephen Lang pulls together some wild and wacky biblical tales. Think the Bible is boring? Think again. These tales will both entertain and enlighten the reader, and engender a desire to read the Bible in search of more.
Talking to the Enemy: Violent Extremism, Sacred Values, and What it Means to Be Human
by Scott AtranTalking to the Enemy is an intellectually and personally courageous exploration of one of the most contentious issues of modern times. Scott Atran has spent years talking to terrorists - from Gaza and Afghanistan, to Indonesia and Europe - in order to help us understand and mitigate the rise of religious violence. Here he argues persuasively that we need to consider terrorists' close relationships, with family and friends, as much as the causes they espouse, and delivers a fascinating journey into the mindsets of radicalised people in the twenty-first century. Along the way, he also provides deep insights into the history of all religions, and into their evolutionary origins. He shows us, above all, how we have come to be human.More than any other book, Talking to the Enemy invites us to empathise; it is itself the best possible example of how to do it.
Talking to the Other: Jewish Interfaith Dialogue with Christians and Muslims
by Jonathan MagonetSuicide killings - both in American and Israel - have focused world attention on international terrorism and the need both to understand its causes and combat it through all possible means. But the involvement of people claiming that their Islamic faith justified murderous suicide action has intensified demonisation of Islam in the west and in turn highlighted the need to understand and relate to Muslims in all their diversity. For a rabbi, confronted on a daily basis with the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, the importance of a dialogue between Jews and Muslims is of obvious importance. Because Jews and Muslims share the experience of being minority religious communities in Europe, they have parallel experiences and needs. Moreover, both have to address the impact of the Middle East conflict on their own communities. Rabbi Jonathan Magonet has long been engaged in such interfaith dialogue. For over thirty years he has organised the annual Jewish-Christian-Muslim student conference in Basle, and has lectured on these themes and participated himself in interfaith conferences all over the world. In this book he explores the issues that arise in such an encounter, the traps that so easily hinder relationships, and the historical and theological problems to be confronted once a basis of trust has been established. As well as examining specific areas that need to be addressed in the Jewish encounter with Christians and Muslims, he challenges the Jewish community to broaden its commitment to interfaith dialogue in a complex and rapidly changing world.
Talking Until Nightfall: Remembering Jewish Salonica, 1941–44
by Isaac Matarasso'Whoever listens to a witness, becomes a witness.' – Elie WieselWhen Nazi occupiers arrived in Greece in 1941, it was the beginning of a horror that would reverberate through generations. In the city of Salonica (Thessaloniki), almost 50,000 Jews were sent to Nazi concentration camps during the war, and only 2,000 returned. A Jewish doctor named Isaac Matarasso and his son escaped imprisonment and torture at the hands of the Nazis and joined the resistance. After the city's liberation they returned to rebuild Salonica and, along with the other survivors, to grapple with the near-total destruction of their community. Isaac was a witness to his Jewish community's devastation, and the tangled aftermath of grief, guilt and grace as survivors returned home. Talking Until Nightfall presents his account of the tragedy and his moving tribute to the living and the dead. His story is woven together with his son Robert's memories of being a frightened teenager spared by a twist of fate, with an afterword by his grandson Francois that looks back on the survivors' stories and his family's place in history. This slim, wrenching account of loss, survival, and the strength of the human spirit will captivate readers and ensure the Jews of Salonica are never forgotten.