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This book offers the reader an introduction to the writings of Hildegard of Bingen, Meister Eckhart, Tauler, Nicholas of Cusa, Paracelsus, Jacob Boehme, Angelus Silesius, Novalis and includes the more recent thinkers, such as Schopenhauer and Wittgenstein, who were influenced by the tradition. It is the first study of its scope to take into account the much ignored historical preconditions of German mysticism and the first to trace the thematic evolution of mystical literature from a core of biblical and Augustinian materials. It also follows in the footsteps of recent scholarship in showing how German mysticism interacts with other currents in intellectual history such as the Reformation, Romanticism, or Modernism. Instead of murky generalizations, the reader will find clear discussions of representative literary documents, analyzed with an eye to theme, source, style, function, and influence.

Preface 1. Regarding Nature: A Conceptual Introduction 2. Nature as Privately Owned: Capitalism 3. Nature as Owned by Everyone: Socialism 4. Nature as Resource: Industrialism 5. The Ideology of Control 6. Nature as Matter: Science 7. Reactive versus Ecological Environmentalism 8. The Critique of Anthropocentrism 9. Beyond Ethics to Deep Ecology 10. For a Radical Ecocentrism Notes Bibliography Index

Translations and analyses of three Persian Sufi texts, offering a perspective on Islam that is rarely met in modern works.

This volume covers the years 21-23/641-43 of the caliphate of ¿Umar ibn al-Khä¿¿b. It can be divided into two distinct and almost equal parts: the first concerning the Muslim conquests in Iran and the east, and the second concerning ¿Umar himself, his assassination, and an assessment of the caliph and the man.The volume begins with the caliphal order to the Muslim troops, recently victorious at the famous battle of Nihawand in 21/641, to penetrate farther into infidel lands in the east. The might of the Persian empire had been broken, and a golden opportunity offered itself to the Muslim community to expand its territories. The territorial gains thus achieved are recounted in this volume. Moving out of the garrison towns of al-Kufah and al-Basrah, the Muslim forces' conquests of Isfahan, Hamadhan, al-Rayy, Qumis, Jurjan, Tabaristan, Azerbaijan, Khurasan, parts of Fars province, Kirman, Sijistan and Makran as far as the Indus, are all described in these pages.Contained in these accounts of far-reaching conquests are the peace documents, which are of considerable historical importance. They are typically the documents issued by the victorious Muslim commanders on the ground to the subjugated local inhabitants, laying out in precise terms the obligations of the latter toward their Muslim conquerors in return for safe conduct.Leaving the Muslim forces on the bank of the Indus, ¿abar¿ switches his account to Medina, where in 23/643 ¿Umar ibn al-Khä¿¿b was assassinated by a Christian slave. After full accounts of this deed, the reader is provided with details of the caliph's genealogy, his physical description, his birth date and age, the names of his children and wives, and the period of time he was a Muslim. A lengthy section follows, in which the deeds of ¿Umar are recounted in anecdotal form. There are also quotations from his addresses to his people and some poetic eulogies addressed to him.The volume ends with ¿Umar's appointment of the electoral council, five senior figures in the Islamic community, to decide on his successor, and the fascinating and historically greatly important account of the workings of the council with all the cut and thrust of debate and the politicking behind the scenes. Thus was ¿Uthm¿n ibn ¿Aff¿n appointed to succeed ¿Umar.

This book is an examination of how the educational process perpetuates cultural myths contributing to the ecological crisis. In addressing the cultural and educational dimensions of the ecological crisis, the book illuminates educational issues associated with the hidden nature of culture, particularly how thought patterns formed in the past are reproduced through the metaphorical language used in the classroom. It examines why both conservative and liberal educational critics ignore the ecological crisis, and suggests that a more ecologically sustainable ideology is being formulated by such thinkers as Aldo Leopold, Wendell Berry, and Gregory Bateson.

This book shows how, once we have adjusted to the unitive state, the spiritual journey moves on to yet another more final ending.In our major religious traditions, the outstanding milestone in the spiritual journey is the permanent, irreversible transcendence of the self center or ego. The fact that a great deal has been written about the journey to this point means that many people have come this far. But what, we might ask, comes next? Looking ahead we see no path; even in the literature there seems to be nothing beyond an abiding awareness of oneness with God. Had this path been mapped in the literature, then at least we would have known that one existed; but where no such account exists, we assume there is no path and that union of self and God is the final goal to be achieved.The main purpose of The Path to No-Self is to correct this assumption. It verifies that a path beyond union does indeed exist, that the eventual falling away of the unitive state happens as the culmination of a long experiential journey beyond the state. The author shows that a path exists between the transcendence of the ego (self-center), which begins the unitive state, and the later falling away of all self (the true self), which ends the unitive state.As a first hand account, The Path to No-Self will be of interest to those with similar experiences, or those searching for a better understanding of their own spiritual journey. Since the journey is concerned with the effects of grace on human consciousness, the book will be of interest to those psychologists concerned with the transformational process.

Joachim Schulte's introduction provides a distinctive and masterful account of the full range of Wittgenstein's thought. It is concise but not compressed, substantive but not overloaded with developmental or technical detail, informed by the latest scholarship but not pedantic. Beginners will find it accessible and seasoned students of Wittgenstein will appreciate it for the illuminating overview it provides.

In this new translation and commentary, LaFargue interprets the concept of "Tao" in the Tao Te Ching as a spiritual state of mind cultivated in a particular school in ancient Chinä a state of mind which also expressed itself in a simple but satisfying life-style, and in a low-key but effective style of political leadership. The interpretation offered here is not only historically accurate, but also conveys the spiritual depth of the Tao Te Ching and its contemporary relevance. The translation is made transparent by a design that presents all of the commentary on the page facing the relevant text.

What can one person do to foster world peace? How does one person's state of mind affect the state of the world? How can the ideal of nonviolence be manifested in daily life? Buddhists have been exploring questions like these for twenty-five centuries, and they are still timely today.Inner Peace, World Peace is the first work in any western language to examine the Buddhist approach to nonviolence. Well-known Buddhist scholars, a noted authority on nonviolent struggle, a prominent Thai Buddhist activist, and other leaders in their fields collaborate to show the contemporary relevance of the Buddhist tradition. The authors also discuss a new international movement known as "socially engaged Buddhism."

This book explores the thought of Jacques Derrida as it relates to the tradition of apophatic thought-negative theology and philosophy-in both Western and Eastern traditions. Following the Introduction by Toby Foshay, two of Derrida's essays on negative theology, Of an Apocalyptic Tone Newly Adopted in Philosophy and How to Avoid Speaking: Denials, are reprinted here. These are followed by essays from a Western perspective by Mark C. Taylor and Michel Despland, and essays from an Eastern perspective by David Loy, a Buddhist, and Harold Coward, a Hindu. In the Conclusion, Jacques Derrida responds to these discussions.

This is the best introduction to Vedanta and to ¿äkara's philosophy. The Upade¿as¿hasr¿, or A Thousand Teachings consists of a metrical part and a prose part. In the metrical part, Sankara discusses the basic philosophical problems of non-dualism, at the same time refuting the teachings of other philosophical schools. In the prose part, he explains how to teach the way to self realization--to enlightenment.¿äkara and the great Abhinavagupta are generally regarded as the two greatest thinkers in the long history of Indian philosophy. Sankara represented Advaita Vedanta, a non-dualistic view of ultimate reality. Most of his works are commentaries on classics of Indian thought. A Thousand Teachings is the only non-commentarial work that can be attributed to him; the other independent writings ascribed to him are probably spurious.

This book is a translation of Maurice Blanchot's work that is of major importance to late 20th-century literature and philosophy studies. Using the fragmentary form, Blanchot challenges the boundaries between the literary and the philosophical. With the obsessive rigor that has always marked his writing, Blanchot returns to the themes that have haunted his work since the beginning: writing, death, transgression, the neuter, but here the figures around whom his discussion turns are Hegel and Nietzsche rather than Mallarme and Kafka.The metaphor Blanchot uses for writing in The Step Not Beyond is the game of chance. Fragmentary writing is a play of limits, a play of ever-multiplied terms in which no one term ever takes precedence. Through the randomness of the fragmentary, Blanchot explores ideas as varied as the relation of writing to luck and to the law, the displacement of the self in writing, the temporality of the Eternal Return, the responsibility of the self towards the others.

Reveals the mystical teachings and practices of the Chishti Sufi order as taught by the ecstatic Shaykh Burhan al-Din Gharib (d. 1337) and his disciples.

This is the first comprehensive anthology of the Chinese sexology classics, the world's oldest and most advanced tradition of sexual yoga. While remaining accessible to the general reader, the translation of these texts, most never before translated in toto and some only recently unearthed in China, sets new standards of accuracy and scholarly felicity.

The most important discoveries of the 20th century exist not in the realm of science, medicine, or technology, but rather in the dawning awareness of the earth's limits and how those limits will affect human evolution. Humanity has reached a crossroad where various ecological catastrophes meet what some call sustainable development. While a great deal of attention has been given to what governments, corporations, utilities, international agencies, and private citizens can do to help in the transition to sustainability, little thought has been given to what schools, colleges, and universities can do. Ecological Literacy asks how the discovery of finiteness affects the content and substance of education. Given the limits of the earth, what should people know and how should they learn it?

Illustrations Preface Part I: The Structure of Religious Groups Chapter 1: Japanese Religious Affiliations: Motives and Obligations Part II: The Dynamics of Social Conflict Chapter 2: Pilgrimage and World Renewal Chapter 3: The Cross and the Cudgel Part III: The Dynamics of Social and Economic Change Chapter 4: The Weber Thesis and the Economic Development of Japan Chapter 5: Buddhism and Modernization Chapter 6: Ittoen: The Work Ethic of a Buddhist Utopia Part IV: Secularization and National Identity Chapter 7: The Secularization of Japanese Religion Chapter 8: Japan Theory and Civil Religion Notes Index

This book brings important new dimensions to the interface between contemporary Western science and ancient Eastern wisdom. Here for the first time the concepts and insights of general systems theory are presented in tandem with those of the Buddha. Remarkable convergences appear between core Buddhist teachings and the systems view of reality, arising in our century from biology and extending into the social and cognitive sciences. Giving a cogent introduction to both bodies of thought, and a fresh interpretation of the Buddha's core teaching of dependent co-arising, this book shows how their common perspective on causality can inform our lives. The interdependence of all beings provides the context for clarifying both the role of meditative practice and guidelines for effective action on behalf of the common good.

"This book will be of great value to any survivor of incest. Equally important, Christine Dinsmore teaches the rest of us-therapists, family members, and friends-how to be helpful to the survivor who takes on the task of ending the secrecy, recovering memories, and experiencing feelings. Dinsmore points out that the recovery process is unique for each survivor. You won't find any pat formulas here. Instead, the reader is left with a sensitivity and an awareness of the role one might play in the survivor's journey." - from the Foreword, Jane R. HirschmannFrom Surviving to Thriving: Incest, Feminism, and Recovery analyzes incest recovery from a feminist perspective. It is based on research with incest survivors and years of therapy with survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Unlike other writings on incest recovery, this book links the incest with patriarchy and its belief in male sexual entitlement. The discussions of incest and its traumatic effects, society's response to the sexual abuse of children, the recovery process, and the role of the supporting cast are reinforced by the words of incest survivors themselves. A detailed account of the incest healing treatment is also provided with specific treatments suggested for therapists working with incest survivors.

Tathagatagarbha - Buddha Nature - is a central concept of Mahayana Buddhism crucial to all the living practice traditions of Tibetan and Zen Buddhism. Its relationship to the concept of emptiness has been a subject of controversy for seven hundred years. Dr. Hookam's work investigates the divergent interpretations of these concepts and the way the Tibetan tradition is resolving them.In particular she does this with reference to the only surviving Indian commentary on the Tathagatagarbha doctrine, the Ratnagotravibhaga. This text addresses itself directly to the issue of how to relate the doctrine of emptiness (the illusory nature of the world) to that of the truly existing, changeless Absolute (the Buddha Nature).This is the first work by a Western writer to present an analysis of the Shentong tradition based on previously untranslated sources. The Shentong view rests on meditative experience that is inaccessible to the conceptualizing mind. It is deeply rooted in the sutra tradition of Indian Buddhism and is central to an understanding of the Mahamudra and Dzogchen traditions and Tantric practice among Kagyupas and Hyingmapas.

Schools have been traditionally defined as institutions of instruction, but the authors of this volume challenge that position in order to generate a new set of cultural categories and constructs through which the nature and process of schooling can be more appropriately understood. Giroux and McLaren develop a theory of schooling that takes into account not only the more traditional relationship between teaching and learning, but also the import of wider cultural dynamics such as language, mass culture, popular culture, the state, theories of readership, ethnographic research, and subcultural studies.

The evidence is increasingly persuasive. We are changing the way our planet's physical systems work-irrevocably. These changes are global and interconnected and unavoidable. They are upon us already, making it virtually impossible for any modern society to continue its present trajectory of growth.This book provides a penetrating analysis of how we have come to this point, of why science and technology will fail to solve these problems, and of how we as a society must change in order to avoid ecological catastrophe. The scope is broad, the urgency of the message is impossible to ignore.

This book both introduces the philosophy of science through examination of the occult and examines the occult rigorously enough to raise central issues in the philosophy of science. Placed in the context of the occult, philosophy of science issues become immediately understandable and forcefully compelling.Divergent views on astrology, parapsychology, and quantum mechanics mysticism emphasize topics standard to the philosophy of science. Such issues as confirmation and selection for testing, causality and time, explanation and the nature of scientific laws, the status of theoretical entities, the problem of demarcation, theory and observation, and science and values are discussed.Significantly revised, this second edition presents an entirely new section of quantum mechanics and mysticism including instructions from N. David Mermin for constructing a device which dramatically illustrates the genuinely puzzling phenomena of quantum mechanics. A more complete and current review of research on astrology has been included in this new edition, and the section on the problem of demarcation has been broadened.

Text of and reflection on the 1981 encounter between Hans-Georg Gadamer and Jacques Derrida, which featured a dialogue between hermeneutics in Germany and post-structuralism in France.

Presenting the commentary of the third-century sage Wang Bi, this book provides a Chinese way of reading the Daodejing, one which will surprise Western readers.

Argues that a primal wounding of the human spirit occurs in earliest human life that disrupts fundamental relationships and leads to anxiety, loneliness, and alienation; and shows how this wounding can be redeemed through therapy and through living one's life differently.

Przewalski's horse, the only true horse never to have been domesticated, is believed to be extinct in the wild. Experts from around the world come together in this book and offer a complete synthesis of knowledge about the species to date. Topics included are taxonomy, morphology, former geographic distribution, history in captivity, the studbook, genetics, population biology, nutrition, veterinary care, reproduction, and behavior. Implications for management are also included and are especially relevant in light of recent plans to attempt the reintroduction of Przewalski's horses into the wild. This book provides a valuable reference to those charged with managing this endangered species in captivity and implementing its reintroduction.