Paul Demieville's Books

What the Buddha Taught

By: Paul Demieville,Walpola Rahula

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What the Buddha Taught

By: Paul Demieville,Walpola Rahula

The Book is a luminious account of fundamental principles of Buddhist doctrine

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133

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Motilal Banarsidass

Published Date

ISBN 10

8120841077

ISBN 13

9788120841079

The Culture of Sex in Ancient China

By: Paul R. Goldin

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The Culture of Sex in Ancient China

By: Paul R. Goldin

The subject of sex was central to early Chinese thought. Discussed openly and seriously as a fundamental topic of human speculation, it was an important source of imagery and terminology that informed the classical Chinese conception of social and political relationships. This sophisticated and long-standing tradition, however, has been all but neglected by modern historians. In The Culture of Sex in Ancient China, Paul Rakita Goldin addresses central issues in the history of Chinese attitudes toward sex and gender from 500 B.C. to A.D. 400. A survey of major pre-imperial sources, including some of the most revered and influential texts in the Chinese tradition, reveals the use of the image of copulation as a metaphor for various human relations, such as those between a worshiper and his or her deity or a ruler and his subjects. In his examination of early Confucian views of women, Goldin notes that, while contradictions and ambiguities existed in the articulation of these views, women were nevertheless regarded as full participants in the Confucian project of self-transformation. He goes on to show how assumptions concerning the relationship of sexual behavior to political activity (assumptions reinforced by the habitual use of various literary tropes discussed earlier in the book) led to increasing attempts to regulate sexual behavior throughout the Han dynasty. Following the fall of the Han, this ideology was rejected by the aristocracy, who continually resisted claims of sovereignty made by impotent emperors in a succession of short-lived dynasties. Erudite and immensely entertaining, this study of intellectual conceptions of sex and sexuality in China will be welcomed by students and scholars of early China and by those with an interest in the comparative development of ancient cultures.

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242

Publisher

University of Hawaii Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0824864654

ISBN 13

9780824864651

Communication in History

Stone Age Symbols to Social Media

By: Peter Urquhart,Paul Heyer

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Communication in History

Stone Age Symbols to Social Media

By: Peter Urquhart,Paul Heyer

Now in its 7th edition, Communication in History reveals how media has been influential in both maintaining social order and as powerful agents of change. Thirty-eight contributions from a wide range of voices offer instructors the opportunity to customize their courses while challenging students to build upon their own knowledge and skill sets. From stone-age symbols and early writing to the Internet and social media, readers are introduced to an expansive, intellectually enlivening study of the relationship between human history and communication media.

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Page Count

495

Publisher

Routledge

Published Date

ISBN 10

1351747312

ISBN 13

9781351747318

Mahayana Buddhism

The Doctrinal Foundations

By: Paul Williams

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Mahayana Buddhism

The Doctrinal Foundations

By: Paul Williams

Originating in India, Mahayana Buddhism spread across Asia, becoming the prevalent form of Buddhism in Tibet and East Asia. Over the last twenty-five years Western interest in Mahayana has increased considerably, reflected both in the quantity of scholarly material produced and in the attraction of Westerners towards Tibetan Buddhism and Zen. Paul Williams’ Mahayana Buddhism is widely regarded as the standard introduction to the field, used internationally for teaching and research and has been translated into several European and Asian languages. This new edition has been fully revised throughout in the light of the wealth of new studies and focuses on the religion’s diversity and richness. It includes much more material on China and Japan, with appropriate reference to Nepal, and for students who wish to carry their study further there is a much-expanded bibliography and extensive footnotes and cross-referencing. Everyone studying this important tradition will find Williams’ book the ideal companion to their studies.

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505

Publisher

Routledge

Published Date

ISBN 10

1134250568

ISBN 13

9781134250561

On Being Buddha

The Classical Doctrine of Buddhahood

By: Paul J. Griffiths

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On Being Buddha

The Classical Doctrine of Buddhahood

By: Paul J. Griffiths

What is it like to be a Buddha? Is there only one Buddha or are there many? What can Buddhas do and what do they know? Is there anything they cannot do and cannot know? These and associated questions were much discussed by Buddhist thinkers in India, and a complex and subtle set of doctrinal positions was developed to deal with them. This is the first book in a western language to treat these doctrines about Buddha from a philosophical and thoroughly critical viewpoint. The book shows that Buddhist thinkers were driven, when theorizing about Buddha, by a basic intuition that Buddha must be maximally perfect, and that pursuing the implications of this intuition led them into some conceptual dilemmas that show considerable similarity to some of those treated by western theists. The Indian Buddhist tradition of thought about these matters is presented here as thoroughly systematic, analytical, and doctrinal. The book's analysis is based almost entirely upon original sources in their original languages. All extracts discussed are translated into English and the book is accessible to nonspecialists, while still treating material that has not been much discussed by western scholars.

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288

Publisher

SUNY Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0791421279

ISBN 13

9780791421277

The Body Incantatory

Spells and the Ritual Imagination in Medieval Chinese Buddhism

By: Paul Copp

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The Body Incantatory

Spells and the Ritual Imagination in Medieval Chinese Buddhism

By: Paul Copp

Whether chanted as devotional prayers, intoned against the dangers of the wilds, or invoked to heal the sick and bring ease to the dead, incantations were pervasive features of Buddhist practice in late medieval China (600Ð1000 C.E.). Material incantations, in forms such as spell-inscribed amulets and stone pillars, were also central to the spiritual lives of both monks and laypeople. In centering its analysis on the Chinese material culture of these deeply embodied forms of Buddhist ritual, The Body Incantatory reveals histories of practiceÑand logics of practiceÑthat have until now remained hidden. Paul Copp examines inscribed stones, urns, and other objects unearthed from anonymous tombs; spells carved into pillars near mountain temples; and manuscripts and prints from both tombs and the Dunhuang cache. Focusing on two major Buddhist spells, or dharani, and their embodiment of the incantatory logics of adornment and unction, he makes breakthrough claims about the significance of Buddhist incantation practice not only in medieval China but also in Central Asia and India. His work vividly captures the diversity of Buddhist practice among medieval monks, ritual healers, and other individuals lost to history, offering a corrective to accounts that have overemphasized elite, canonical materials.

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Page Count

398

Publisher

Columbia University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0231162707

ISBN 13

9780231162708

Comparative Essays in Early Greek and Chinese Rational Thinking

By: Jean-Paul Reding

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Comparative Essays in Early Greek and Chinese Rational Thinking

By: Jean-Paul Reding

This collection of essays, by Reding, in the emergent field of Sino-Hellenic studies, explores the neglected inchoative strains of rational thought in ancient China and compares them to similar themes in ancient Greek thought, right at the beginnings of philosophy in both cultures. Reding develops and defends the bold hypothesis that Greek and Chinese rational thinking are one and the same phenomenon. Rather than stressing the extreme differences between these two cultures - as most other writings on these subjects - Reding looks for the parameters that have to be restored to see the similarities. Reding maintains that philosophy is like an unknown continent discovered simultaneously in both China and Greece, but from different starting-points. The book comprises seven essays moving thematically from conceptual analysis, logic and categories to epistemology and ontology, with an incursion in the field of comparative metaphorology. One of the book's main concerns is a systematic examination of the problem of linguistic relativism through many detailed examples.

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274

Publisher

Routledge

Published Date

ISBN 10

1351950053

ISBN 13

9781351950053

Essays in Medieval Chinese Literature and Cultural History

By: Paul W. Kroll

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Essays in Medieval Chinese Literature and Cultural History

By: Paul W. Kroll

This is one of a pair of volumes by Paul Kroll (the companion volume deals with medieval Taoism and the poetry of Li Po). Collecting eleven essays by this leading scholar of Chinese poetry, the volume presents a selection of studies devoted to the medieval period, centering especially on the T'ang dynasty. It opens with the author's famous articles on the dancing horses of T'ang, on the emperor Hsüan Tsung's abandonment of his capital and forced execution of his prized consort, and on poems relating to the holy mountain T'ai Shan (with special attention to Li Po). Following these are detailed examinations of landscape and mountain imagery in the poetry of the "High T'ang" period in the mid-8th century, and of an extraordinary attempt made in the mid-9th-century to recall in verse and anecdote the great days of the High T'ang. The second section of the book includes two articles on birds (notably the kingfisher and the egret) in medieval poetry, and four of Kroll's influential studies focusing on the verse-form known as the fu or "rhapsody," especially drawing from the 3rd-century poet Ts'ao Chih and the 7th-century poet Lu Chao-lin.

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Page Count

362

Publisher

Taylor & Francis

Published Date

ISBN 10

1000943186

ISBN 13

9781000943184

Buddhist Thought

A Complete Introduction to the Indian Tradition

By: Paul Williams,Anthony Tribe,Alexander Wynne

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Buddhist Thought

A Complete Introduction to the Indian Tradition

By: Paul Williams,Anthony Tribe,Alexander Wynne

Buddhist Thought guides the reader towards a richer understanding of the central concepts of classical Indian Buddhist thought, from the time of Buddha, to the latest scholarly perspectives and controversies. Abstract and complex ideas are made understandable by the authors' lucid style. Of particular interest is the up-to-date survey of Buddhist Tantra in India, a branch of Buddhism where strictly controlled sexual activity can play a part in the religious path. Williams' discussion of this controversial practice as well as of many other subjects makes Buddhist Thought crucial reading for all interested in Buddhism.

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336

Publisher

Routledge

Published Date

ISBN 10

1134623259

ISBN 13

9781134623259

Tibetan Literature

Studies in Genre

By: Leonard van der Kuijp,James Burnell Robinson,Paul Harrison

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Tibetan Literature

Studies in Genre

By: Leonard van der Kuijp,James Burnell Robinson,Paul Harrison

Tibetan Literature addresses the immense variety of Tibet's literary heritage. An introductory essay by the editors attempts to assess the overall nature of 'literature' in Tibet and to understand some of the ways in which it may be analyzed into genres. The remainder of the book contains articles by nearly thirty scholars from America, Europe, and Asia—each of whom addresses an important genre of Tibetan literature. These articles are distributed among eight major rubrics: two on history and biography, six on canonical and quasi-canonical texts, four on philosophical literature, four on literature on the paths, four on ritual, four on literary arts, four on non-literary arts and sciences, and two on guidebooks and reference works.

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555

Publisher

Shambhala Publications

Published Date

ISBN 10

1559390441

ISBN 13

9781559390446

The Taming of the Demons

Violence and Liberation in Tibetan Buddhism

By: Jacob Paul Dalton

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The Taming of the Demons

Violence and Liberation in Tibetan Buddhism

By: Jacob Paul Dalton

The Taming of the Demons" examines mythic and ritual themes of violence, demon taming, and blood sacrifice in Tibetan Buddhism. Taking as its starting point Tibet's so-called age of fragmentation (842 to 986 C.E.), the book draws on previously unstudied manuscripts discovered in the "library cave" near Dunhuang, on the old Silk Road. These ancient documents, it argues, demonstrate how this purportedly inactive period in Tibetan history was in fact crucial to the Tibetan assimilation of Buddhism, and particularly to the spread of violent themes from tantric Buddhism into Tibet at the local and the popular levels. Having shed light on this "dark age" of Tibetan history, the second half of the book turns to how, from the late tenth century onward, the period came to play a vital symbolic role in Tibet, as a violent historical "other" against which the Tibetan Buddhist tradition defined itself.

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Page Count

333

Publisher

Yale University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0300153953

ISBN 13

9780300153958

Communication in History

Technology, Culture, Society

By: David Crowley,Paul Heyer

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Communication in History

Technology, Culture, Society

By: David Crowley,Paul Heyer

Updated in a new 6th edition, Communication in History reveals how media has been influential in both maintaining social order and as powerful agents of change. With revised new readings, this anthology continues to be, as one reviewer wrote, "the only book in the sea of History of Mass Communication books that introduces readers to a more expansive, intellectually enlivening study of the relationship between human history and communication history". From print to the Internet, this book encompasses a wide-range of topics, that introduces readers to a more expansive, intellectually enlivening study of the relationship between human history and communication history.

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337

Publisher

Routledge

Published Date

ISBN 10

1317349407

ISBN 13

9781317349402

The Worlds of Classical Chinese Aesthetics

By: Paul R. Goldin

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The Worlds of Classical Chinese Aesthetics

By: Paul R. Goldin

This book presents the foundations of classical Chinese aesthetic discourse - roughly from the Bronze Age to the early Middle Ages - with the following animating questions: What is art? Why do we produce it? How do we judge it? The arts that garnered the most theoretical attention during this time period were music, poetry, calligraphy, and painting, and this book considers the reasons why these four were privileged. Whereas modern artists most likely consider themselves musicians or poets or calligraphers or painters or sculptors or architects, the pre-modern authors who produced the literature that established Chinese aesthetics prided themselves on being wenren, “cultured people,” conversant with all forms of art and learning. Other comparisons with Western theories and works of art are presented at due junctures. Key Features Addresses Chinese aesthetic discourse on its own terms Provides comparisons of key concepts and theories with examples from Western sources Includes more coverage of primary sources than any other English-language book on the subject Each chapter opens with a helpful summary, highlighting the chapter’s key themes

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Page Count

199

Publisher

Taylor & Francis

Published Date

ISBN 10

1003861334

ISBN 13

9781003861331

The Triadic Heart of Śiva

Kaula Tantricism of Abhinavagupta in the Non-dual Shaivism of Kashmir

By: Paul E. Muller-Ortega

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The Triadic Heart of Śiva

Kaula Tantricism of Abhinavagupta in the Non-dual Shaivism of Kashmir

By: Paul E. Muller-Ortega

This book explores one of the most explicit and sophisticated theoretical formulations of tantric yoga. It explains Abhinavagupta's teaching about the nature of ultimate reality, about the methods for experiencing this ultimate reality, and about the nature of the state of realization, a condition of embodied enlightenment. The author uncovers the conceptual matrix surrounding the practices of the Kaula lineage of Kashmir Shaivism. The primary textual basis for the book is provided by Abhinavagupta's Parātrīśikā-laghuvṛtti, a short meditation manual that centers on the symbolism of the Heart-mantra, SAUḤ.

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347

Publisher

State University of New York Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1438413858

ISBN 13

9781438413853

Religious Reading

The Place of Reading in the Practice of Religion

By: Paul J. Griffiths

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Religious Reading

The Place of Reading in the Practice of Religion

By: Paul J. Griffiths

In examining and analyzing these practices, Griffiths develops a picture of the intellectual and moral commitments involved in being a religious person. Griffiths favorably contrasts the practices and pedagogies of traditional religious cultures with those of our own fragmented and secularized culture and insists that religious reading should be preserved. He concludes with the controversial proposal that the modern university should make room for traditional scholastics."--BOOK JACKET.

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Page Count

225

Publisher

Oxford University Press, USA

Published Date

ISBN 10

0195125770

ISBN 13

9780195125771

Medicine in China

A History of Ideas

By: Paul U. Unschuld

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Medicine in China

A History of Ideas

By: Paul U. Unschuld

In the first comprehensive and analytical study of therapeutic concepts and practices in China, Paul Unschuld traced the history of documented health care from its earliest extant records to present developments. This edition is updated with a new preface which details the immense ideological intersections between Chinese and European medicines in the past 25 years.

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464

Publisher

Univ of California Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0520266137

ISBN 13

9780520266131

Historical Dictionary of the Mongol World Empire

By: Paul D. Buell,Francesca Fiaschetti

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Historical Dictionary of the Mongol World Empire

By: Paul D. Buell,Francesca Fiaschetti

The Historical Dictionary of the Mongol World Empire examines the history of the Mongol Empire, the pre-imperial era of Mongolian history that preceded it, and the various Mongol successor states that continued to dominate Eurasia long after the breakdown of Mongol unity. This second edition contains a chronology, an introduction, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 900 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture of the Mongol Empire. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the Mongol Empire.

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Page Count

421

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield

Published Date

ISBN 10

1538111373

ISBN 13

9781538111376

Demon Hordes and Burning Boats

The Cult of Marshal Wen in Late Imperial Chekiang

By: Paul R. Katz

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Demon Hordes and Burning Boats

The Cult of Marshal Wen in Late Imperial Chekiang

By: Paul R. Katz

One of the few full-length regional studies of popular religion in late imperial China, this book presents the history of the cult of Marshal Wen, a plague-fighting deity whose cult flourished through Chekiang and its neighboring provinces. The author provides a lively account of the rise of Wen's cult during the tumultuous years of the Southern Sung dynasty, as well as its spread during subsequent dynasties. In exploring the roles played by scholar-officials, merchants, and Taoist priests in the growth of Wen's cult, the author pays special attention to the various representations of this deity held by different social groups, and shows that these were constantly interacting in a process he calls "reverberation." His analysis of plague expulsion festivals featuring Marshal Wen reveals that they functioned as rites of affliction designed to both achieve communal purification and resolve social crises. This book draws on a wide variety of sources, including Taoist scriptures and liturgical texts, stele inscriptions, literati writings (including poetry), manuscripts from local archives, as well as popular novels and folktales. The author also supplements his historical research with data gathered during fieldwork in Chekiang and Taiwan

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Page Count

286

Publisher

State University of New York Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

143840848X

ISBN 13

9781438408484

Quests of the Dragon and Bird Clan: Pun and Sepu (Vol. IV)

By: Paul Kekai Manansala

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Quests of the Dragon and Bird Clan: Pun and Sepu (Vol. IV)

By: Paul Kekai Manansala

Continuation of the multi-volume set Quests of the Dragon and Bird Clan by Paul Kekai Manansala. This is the fourth and last volume of the series based on the online blog of the same name.

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