Introducing Buddha
A Graphic Guide
Published on 5. June 2014
176 pages
978-1-84831-768-0 (ISBN)
Description
Meditation, Karma, Zen, Tantric and Nirvana are some of the many Buddhist ideas Westerners hear of frequently, even if their meaning has been lost in translation. This vast and complex non-theistic religion is woven into the fabric of Asian civilisations. from India to the Himalayan regions, China, Vietnam, Korea, Japan and elsewhere. What is Buddhism really all about?
Introducing Buddha describes the life and teachings of the Buddha, but it also shows that enlightenment is a matter of experiencing the truth individually, and by inspiration which is passed from teacher to student. Superbly illustrated by Borin Van Loon, the book illuminates this process through a rich legacy of stories, explains the practices of meditation, Taoism and Zen, and goes on to describe the role of Buddhism in modern Asia and its growing influence on Western thought.
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09/2008
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Persons
Borin Van Loon has worked on numerous Introducing titles. He is a freelance illustrator, surrealist painter and collagist who produces the comic strip 'The Severed Head' for The Chap magazine.
Content
- Intro
- Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Contents
- Part One
- Introduction
- Was the Buddha an Historical Figure?
- The Life of the Buddha
- Life in the Palace
- Outside the Palace
- The Quest for Enlightenment
- Obstacles
- Siddartha's Enlightenment
- The Buddha
- What the Buddha Taught
- The Noble Truth of Suffering
- The Noble Truth of the Cause of Suffering
- The Noble Truth of the end of Suffering
- The Path
- Meditation
- Karma
- Life of the Buddha
- Death of the Buddha
- History of Early Buddhism
- The Three Yanas
- Part Two
- The Mahayana Tradition
- The Bodhisattva
- Expansion of Buddhism
- Decline of Buddhism in India
- Study and Practice of Mahayana
- Pointing the way with Words
- Stages on the Mahayana path Maitri
- The Action of a Bodhisattva
- Sunyata
- The Two Truths
- Mahayana Schools the Madyamika School
- The Yogacara School
- Expansion of Buddhism into China
- Confucianism
- Taoism
- Chinese Buddhism
- Zen Buddhism
- Origins of Zen
- Bodhidharma
- Hui-Neng
- Methods of Zen
- Zen in Japan
- Zen Teaching
- Part Three
- The Third Turning of the Wheel - Vajrayana the Northern Transmission
- Buddhism Comes to Tibet
- Vajrayana
- Padmasambhava
- Crazy Wisdom
- The Siddha Tradition
- Transformation of Desire
- Sexual Tantra
- Stages on the Vajrayana Path Warnings
- Story of Rudra
- Role of the Teacher
- Marpa and Milarepa
- Trials
- The Four Schools of Tibetan Buddhism
- Vajrayana Practice
- Visualization
- Tantric Deities
- Tibetan Buddhist Understanding of Death
- Reincarnation
- Bardo Teachings - The Tibetan Book of the Dead
- Near-Death Experiences
- Relevance of Vajrayana Buddhism
- Part Four
- The Traditions of Buddhism Today
- Buddhism in the West
- Suzuki Roshi
- Chogyam Trungpa
- The Future of Buddhism in the West
- Role of Women
- Social Action
- Hierarchy
- Conclusion
- The Spread of Buddhism
- Historical Structure
- Further Reading
- About the Author
- About the Illustrator
- Index
