Challenging the notion of the nonreligious in Japan being religious through tradition and institution, this book demonstrates how negativity and antipathy for religion relate to religious decline in Japan today. Why do most Japanese say they are 'nonreligious' (mushukyo)? Since the 1990s, scholars have answered this key question for understanding religion in contemporary Japan as follows: although the Japanese say they are nonreligious because they do not identify with a p...

Shamans throughout much of Asia are regarded as having the power to control and coerce spirits. Many Asians today still turn to shamans to communicate with the world of the dead, heal the sick, and explain enigmatic events. To understand Asian religions, therefore, a knowledge of shamanism is essential.Shamans in Asia provides an introduction to the study of shamans and six ethnographic studies, each of which describes and analyses the lives and activities of shamans in fiv...

Thich Nhat Hanh shares timeless wisdom and mindfulness meditation practices in this illustrated pocket-sized guide about cherishing the many ways love manifests in our lives.How to Love is the third title in Thich Nhat Hanh’s series of mindfulness books for beginners and seasoned practitioners. This time, he brings his signature clarity, compassion, and humor to the thorny question of how to love. He distills one of our strongest emotions down to 4 essenti...

In 1980, Michael Harner blazed the trail for the worldwide revival of shamanism with his seminal classic The Way of the Shaman. In this long-awaited sequel, he provides new evidence of the reality of heavens.Drawing from a lifetime of personal shamanic experiences and more than 2,500 reports of Westerners’ experiences during shamanic ascension, Harner highlights the striking similarities between their discoveries, indicating that the heavens and spirits they’ve encountered...

The delightful and often funny poetry of Zen’s quintessential free spirit, Master Ryokan—in a fresh translation by a beloved American Zen figureRyokan Taigu (1758-1831) was a monk in the Soto lineage of Japanese Zen who spent a good part of his life as a hermit, writing poetry, playing with children, and creating simple and exquisitely beautiful calligraphies—sometimes using twigs as his instrument when he couldn't afford a brush. He was never head of a monastery o...

The sages of Tantra taught that when we follow the path of Shakti, the sacred feminine principle personified by the goddesses of yoga, we awaken the full potential of our own inner energies. Kali, teaches Sally Kempton, may be both the most powerful—and misunderstood—goddess of all.Kali—her name means “Black One”—is the original Dark Goddess, whose hidden gift is ecstasy. She brings both fierceness and love, destruction and rebirth—and untamed courage and freedom for those willing ...

Soul of the Samurai contains modern translations of three classic works of Zen & Bushido.In Soul of the Samurai, bestselling author and respected translator Thomas Cleary reveals the true essence of the Bushido code or Zen warrior teachings according to 17th-century Japanese samurai master Yagyu Munenori and his Zen teacher Takuan Soho.The three works of Zen & Bushido translated in Soul of the Samurai are:The Boo...

Founded by Bodhidharma centuries ago in China, Zen and its teachings have since spread widely, exerting a tremendous cultural influence not only across Asia, but also the modern West. To this day, Zen inspires young and old, from all walks of life, to see the world with fresh eyes—beyond our usual assumptions and prejudices.This compendium of a thousand years of Zen teaching presents the essence of the tradition through stories, sayings, talks, and records of heart-to-heart encount...

The stories within these books have the poignancy of new discoveries as well as the unworn imagination of the ancestors. The commentary has the sharp edge of modern thought and the intricacy which results from the intellect being woven through the ritual complexities of tribal life. The purpose of constructing thresholds that bring this world together is to find the powers that can heal the rends in tribal as well as modern communities.? --Michael Meade, from the Introduct...

The timeless wisdom of this classic Taoist text can become a companion on your own spiritual journey.The Chuang-tzu is the second major text of the Taoist tradition. It was compiled in the third century BCE and follows the lead of the best-known and oldest of all Taoist texts, the Tao-te-ching (Book of the Tao and Its Potency). Representing the philosophy of its main author, Chuang Chou, along with several other early Taoist strands, the text has inspired spiritual...

A stimulating exploration of the haiku masterpiece.Matsuo Basho (1644-94) is considered Japan's greatest haiku poet. Narrow Road to the Interior (Oku no Hosomichi) is his masterpiece. Ostensibly a chronological account of the poet's five-month journey in 1689 into the deep country north and west of the old capital, Edo, the work is in fact artful and carefully sculpted, rich in literary and Zen allusion and filled with great insights and vital rhythms....

This book is dedicated to a positive analysis of Agni Yoga Teachings, written by Helena Roerich. The book explains, in particular, such terms as Shambala, Hierarchy, Divine Fire, Infinity, the Heart. The book is addressed to those who seek cognition of God and full spiritual self-realization.