James A. Benn's Books

Tea in China

A Religious and Cultural History

By: James A. Benn

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Tea in China

A Religious and Cultural History

By: James A. Benn

Tea in China explores the contours of religious and cultural transformation in traditional China from the point of view of an everyday commodity and popular beverage. The work traces the development of tea drinking from its mythical origins to the nineteenth century and examines the changes in aesthetics, ritual, science, health, and knowledge that tea brought with it. The shift in drinking habits that occurred in late medieval China cannot be understood without an appreciation of the fact that Buddhist monks were responsible for not only changing people's attitudes toward the intoxicating substance, but also the proliferation of tea drinking. Monks had enjoyed a long association with tea in South China, but it was not until Lu Yu's compilation of the Chajing (The Classic of Tea) and the spread of tea drinking by itinerant Chan monastics that tea culture became popular throughout the empire and beyond. Tea was important for maintaining long periods of meditation; it also provided inspiration for poets and profoundly affected the ways in which ideas were exchanged. Prior to the eighth century, the aristocratic drinking party had excluded monks from participating in elite culture. Over cups of tea, however, monks and literati could meet on equal footing and share in the same aesthetic values. Monks and scholars thus found common ground in the popular stimulant—one with few side effects that was easily obtainable and provided inspiration and energy for composing poetry and meditating. In addition, rituals associated with tea drinking were developed in Chan monasteries, aiding in the transformation of China's sacred landscape at the popular and elite level. Pilgrimages to monasteries that grew their own tea were essential in the spread of tea culture, and some monasteries owned vast tea plantations. By the end of the ninth century, tea was a vital component in the Chinese economy and in everyday life. Tea in China transcends the boundaries of religious studies and cultural history as it draws on a broad range of materials—poetry, histories, liturgical texts, monastic regulations—many translated or analyzed for the first time. The book will be of interest to scholars of East Asia and all those concerned with the religious dimensions of commodity culture in the premodern world.

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Page Count

306

Publisher

University of Hawaii Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0824853989

ISBN 13

9780824853983

Burning for the Buddha

Self-Immolation in Chinese Buddhism

By: James A. Benn

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Burning for the Buddha

Self-Immolation in Chinese Buddhism

By: James A. Benn

Burning for the Buddha is the first book-length study of the theory and practice of "abandoning the body"(self-immolation) in Chinese Buddhism. It examines the hagiographical accounts of all those who made offerings of their own bodies and places them in historical, social, cultural, and doctrinal context. Rather than privilege the doctrinal and exegetical interpretations of the tradition, which assume the central importance of the mind and its cultivation, James Benn focuses on the ways in which the heroic ideals of the bodhisattva present in scriptural materials such as the Lotus Sutra played out in the realm of religious practice on the ground.

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378

Publisher

University of Hawaii Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0824829921

ISBN 13

9780824829926

Chronic Coronary Artery Disease: A Companion to Braunwald's Heart Disease E-Book

A Companion to Braunwald's Heart Disease

By: James de Lemos,Torbjørn Omland

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Chronic Coronary Artery Disease: A Companion to Braunwald's Heart Disease E-Book

A Companion to Braunwald's Heart Disease

By: James de Lemos,Torbjørn Omland

Featuring expert guidance from Drs. James de Lemos and Torbjørn Omland, as well as other globally known leaders in cardiology, Chronic Coronary Artery Disease covers every aspect of managing and treating patients suffering from chronic coronary syndromes. This brand-new companion to Braunwald's Heart Disease was designed as a stand-alone reference for physicians treating patients who present with complex, unique challenges, offering the latest information on the use of imaging modalities in diagnosis and treatment, advances in interventional and surgical approaches to revascularization, new medications to improve symptoms and outcomes in chronic CAD, and much more. - Covers every aspect of evaluation and treatment of patients who suffer from chronic coronary syndromes. - Provides both evidenced based recommendations from the most recent guidelines from the major cardiology societies: AHA, ACC, and ESC, as well as practical management tips from leading experts with extensive clinical experience. - Highlights new developments concerning epidemiology and prevention, pathophysiology, and clinical findings, as well as laboratory testing, invasive and non-invasive testing, risk stratification, clinical decision-making, and prognosis and management of chronic coronary syndromes. - Features information on today's hot topics, including the use of novel imaging modalities in diagnosis and treatment and emerging therapies to improve outcomes in chronic CAD.

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Page Count

530

Publisher

Elsevier Health Sciences

Published Date

ISBN 10

0323508758

ISBN 13

9780323508759

The Making of Princeton University

From Woodrow Wilson to the Present

By: James Axtell

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The Making of Princeton University

From Woodrow Wilson to the Present

By: James Axtell

In 1902, Professor Woodrow Wilson took the helm of Princeton University, then a small denominational college with few academic pretensions. But Wilson had a blueprint for remaking the too-cozy college into an intellectual powerhouse. The Making of Princeton University tells, for the first time, the story of how the University adapted and updated Wilson's vision to transform itself into the prestigious institution it is today. James Axtell brings the methods and insights from his extensive work in ethnohistory to the collegiate realm, focusing especially on one of Princeton's most distinguished features: its unrivaled reputation for undergraduate education. Addressing admissions, the curriculum, extracurricular activities, and the changing landscape of student culture, the book devotes four full chapters to undergraduate life inside and outside the classroom. The book is a lively warts-and-all rendering of Princeton's rise, addressing such themes as discriminatory admission policies, the academic underperformance of many varsity athletes, and the controversial "bicker" system through which students have been selected for the University's private eating clubs. Written in a delightful and elegant style, The Making of Princeton University offers a detailed picture of how the University has dealt with these issues to secure a distinguished position in both higher education and American society. For anyone interested in or associated with Princeton, past or present, this is a book to savor.

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686

Publisher

Princeton University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0691227527

ISBN 13

9780691227528

Burning for the Buddha

Self-Immolation in Chinese Buddhism

By: James A. Benn

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Burning for the Buddha

Self-Immolation in Chinese Buddhism

By: James A. Benn

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Solve jigsaw puzzle

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Page Count

378

Publisher

University of Hawaii Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0824829921

ISBN 13

9780824829926

Book's by James A. Benn

Tea in China

Tea in China

Burning for the Buddha

Burning for the Buddha

Chronic Coronary Artery Disease: A Companion to Braunwald's Heart Disease E-Book

Chronic Coronary Artery Disease: A Companion to Braunwald's Heart Disease E-Book

The Making of Princeton University

The Making of Princeton University

Burning for the Buddha

Burning for the Buddha

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