A History of Indian Buddhism: From Sakyamuni to Early Mahayana

A History of Indian Buddhism: From Sakyamuni to Early Mahayana
This comprehensive and detailed survey of the first six centuries of Indian Buddhism sums up the results of a lifetime of research and reflection by one of Japan's most renowned scholars of Buddhism. Relying on Pali and Sanskrit sources and on inscriptions from archaeological sites and Chinese translations of Indian texts, Hirakawa balances his review of early Buddhist doctrinal development with extensive discussion of historical background and the evolution of Buddhist institutions. The inclusion of Japanese and Western language bibliographies together with an extensive bibliographic essay by the translator should make this volume especially useful as an introduction to a large corpus of Japanese scholarship on Buddhism which is still not widely known in the West.

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Cold Mountain

View this movie at cultureunplugged.com

Cold Mountain
Cold Mountain" is a film portrait of the Tang Dynasty Chinese poet Han Shan, a.k.a. Cold Mountain. Recorded on location in China, America and Japan, Burton Watson, Red Pine and the legendary Gary Snyder describe the poet's life and tell poems. A trickster, Han Shan wrote poems for everyone, not just the educated elite. A man free of spiritual doctrine, it is unclear whether or not he was a monk, whether he was a Buddhist or a Taoist, or both. It is not even certain he ever lived, but the poems do.

Ten Thousand Miles Without a Cloud

Ten Thousand Miles Without a Cloud - Sun Shuyun
10,000 miles without a cloud, is a Buddhist saying. It signifies the search for a mind clear of doubts: a perfect title for this remarkable book on a journey of discovery and faith. Son Shuyun grew up in China during the dark night of the Cultural Revolution, when it was more important to learn the right attitudes than to study. Her father was an ardent communist and a veteran of the Long March, her grandmother (with whom she shared a room) a Buddhist. By the time Sun Shuyun reached university, she had witnessed the bitter disillusionment of both her father - for whom Mao's brand of communism had failed to deliver on its promises - and her classmates. Scarcely surprising then, given the influence of her grandmother, that she turned to Buddhism for inspiration, and specifically to Xuanzang, a true Chinese hero waiting to be rediscovered. Xuanzang lived in the seventh century AD - a golden period in Chinese history. He was a man of extraordinary qualities, who travelled from China through Central Asia to India in search of enlightenment. Sun Shuyun set out to discover what gave Xuanzang such phenomenal strength and purpose and, above all, to find a faith for herself, a faith that could replace the false god of communism. In retracing Xuanzang's steps, Sun Shuyun makes a journey, both literal and metaphorical, through four landscapes - historical, cultural, spiritual and personal. In so doing, she presents us with a vivid and fascinating insight into China and its people, past and present. Though sparsely illustrated, this is a book whose rich, descriptive language is marvellously evocative. Moving and original, it is both a fine introduction to Chinese Buddhism, and an extraordinary voyage of the soul

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China's Frozen Desert

China's Frozen Desert
As commerce flourished along the Silk Road, Central Asia became a melting pot of cultures. Here on the edges of the Taklmakan Desert, an exotic blend of Indian, Mongol, Chinese, and European influences fueled an astonishing cultural Renaissance. In the 7th century, a Chinese monk, Xuanzang, plunged into the desert while on a Buddhist pilgrimage to India. His descriptions of the oasis-cities he encountered would prove invaluable to another explorer, more than a thousand years later. 20th century archeologist Sir Aurel Stein took on the deadly Taklamakan to prove his own theories about Western China's lost civilization. Again and again Xuanzang's writings led him to archeological treasure - once thriving cities now buried in the sand. On their monk's trail, Stein made his greatest discovery, a thousand-year-old Buddhist library in near-perfect condition.

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BBC - Sue Johnston's Shangri La

BBC - Sue Johnston's Shangri La

Sue Johnston goes in search of her life long dream - to find the lost world of Shangri La.

We follow Sue as she sets out to find her childhood dream - Shangri La. Sue first came across the story of Shangri La as a 16 year old in 1959 when she watched the old black and white movie, Lost Horizon, with her mother on their first black and white TV. The film was based on a book written by James Hilton in 1933. She read the book voraciously and has been re-reading it over the years since. As a child she was always fascinated by the orient and the mysteries of the far east. But in those post war austerity days in Merseyside the chances of ever following her dream seemed unattainable goal. Then life took over. She got married, had a child, started a very successful acting career, got divorced and the dream slipped further and further away - into the dark forgotten corners of her mind.

Recently as her life started to change. Her son left home and settled into his own life and her parents died.. Her sense of mortality hit home so she decided that it was time to try and follow that childhood dream. She decided to go in search of Shangri La - to find the inspiration for Hilton's book, the story of Lost Horizon.

We follow Sue on her quest through SW China's Yunnan Province and into Tibet, traveling over high mountain passes, into deep hidden valleys and gorges, through bustling towns and ultimately on horse back to her final destination, the scared mountain of Kawarkapo and the beautiful tiny isolated village of Yipung on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau - fulfilling a childhood dream to find the mysterious world of Shangri La.

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Enlightenment in Dispute

Enlightenment in Dispute: The Reinvention of Chan Buddhism in Seventeenth-Century - Jiang Wu
Enlightenment in Dispute is the first comprehensive study of the revival of Chan Buddhism in seventeenth-century China. Focusing on the evolution of a series of controversies about Chan enlightenment, Jiang Wu describes the process by which Chan reemerged as the most prominent Buddhist establishment of the time. He argues that the revival of Chan Buddhism depended upon reinventions of previous Chan ideals, which had been largely lost after the Song dynasty.

Wu investigates the development of Chan Buddhism in the seventeenth century, focusing on controversies involving issues such as correct practice and lines of lineage. In this way, he shows how the Chan revival reshaped Chinese Buddhism in late imperial China. Situating these controversies alongside major events of the fateful Ming-Qing transition, Wu shows how the rise and fall of Chan Buddhism was conditioned by social changes in the seventeenth century.

Examining the role of textual practice and the implication of dharma transmission in rebuilding Chan institutions, Wu argues that the Chan revival was actively coordinated to coincide with the transformation of Chinese culture and society. His study concludes by bringing the Chan revival to a larger historical context and reflecting on its legacies, ultimately establishing a general pattern of past Buddhist revivals.

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Three Monks (1980)

Three Monks (1980)
The film is based on the ancient Chinese proverb "One monk will shoulder two buckets of water, two monks will share the load, but add a third and no one will want to fetch water."

The film does not contain any dialogues, allowing it to be watched by any culture, and a different music instrument was used to signify each monk.
The film also tell the story from the aspect of the buddhist bhikkhu.

A young monk lives a simple life in a temple on top of a hill. He has one daily task of hauling two buckets of water up the hill. He tries to share the job with another monk, but the carry pole is only long enough for one bucket. The arrival of a third monk prompts everyone to expect that someone else will take on the chore. Consequently, no one fetches water though everybody is thirsty. At night, a rat comes to scrounge and then knocks the candleholder, leading to a devastating fire in the temple. The three monks finally unite together and make a concerted effort to put out the fire. Since then they understand the old saying "unity is strength" and begin to live a harmonious life. The temple never lacks water again.

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A Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms

A Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms - Fa-hsien
This country originally had no human inhabitants, but was occupied only by spirits and nâgas, with which merchants of various countries carried on a trade.... Through the coming and going of merchants... when they went away, the people of their various countries heard how pleasant the land was, and flocked to it in numbers till it became a great nation.-from "Chapter XXXVIII: At Ceylon" Little is known about the 5th-century Chinese monk Fâ-hien beyond what he himself tells us in the journals of his travels in India and Ceylon from the years 399 to 414 in search of the Buddhist Books of Discipline. But as he follows in the footsteps of the Buddha, revisiting the legendary places of the faith, his wise observations reveal an enlightenment that transcends time. An important primary source on the traditions and beliefs of Buddhism, this 1886 translation-complete with copious notes on Buddhist ideas and rituals, particular translations, and poetic idioms-is still considered the best English-language version available. Spiritual seekers will find a deeper understanding of Buddhism; students of Asian history will discover a glorious travelogue of an ancient culture. Scottish scholar JAMES LEGGE (1815-1897) was the first professor of Chinese language and literature at Oxford University, serving from 1876 to 1897. Among his many books are The Life and Teaching of Confucius (1867), The Religions of China (1880), and the 50-volume Sacred Books of the East (1879-1891).

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An Introduction to Chinese Philosophy

An Introduction to Chinese Philosophy - Karyn L. Lai,
This comprehensive introductory textbook to early Chinese philosophy covers a range of philosophical traditions which arose during the Spring and Autumn (722-476 BCE) and Warring States (475-221 BCE) periods in China, including Confucianism, Mohism, Daoism, and Legalism. It considers concepts, themes and argumentative methods of early Chinese philosophy and follows the development of some ideas in subsequent periods, including the introduction of Buddhism into China. The book examines key issues and debates in early Chinese philosophy, cross-influences between its traditions and interpretations by scholars up to the present day. The discussion draws upon both primary texts and secondary sources, and there are suggestions for further reading. This will be an invaluable guide for all who are interested in the foundations of Chinese philosophy and its richness and continuing relevance.

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Cloud And Water In Zen - Choi Kai-Shing

Cloud And Water In Zen - Choi Kai-Shing
I haven't found any info regarding this artist. It is a pleasant sounding collection of Chinese flute music. If anyone can find a Bio please let me know.


APE Music Format

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Asian Corridor In Heaven ( 2008 )

Asian Corridor In Heaven

Description: Part of the Insight Asia series, Asian Corridor In Heaven is a six-episode HD documentary series co-produced by KBS and NHK about the world's oldest trade route, the "Ancient Tea and Horse Caravan Road". Pre-dating the Silk Road by 200 years, the Ancient Tea and Horse Caravan Road crossed from the Sichuan and Yunnan provinces of Southwest China over mountainous terrain into Tibet, Nepal, and India. The Caravan Road was not only an important route for the trade of tea and horses, but also a corridor connecting Chinese and Tibetan language, people, religion, and cultures.

Ep1. The Last Horse Caravan
Ep2. Road To Pilgrimage
Ep3. Tea makes the Road Open
Ep4. The Salt in Yanjing. The Crystal by Woman
Ep5. Himalayan Salt Trek
Ep6. Guge. Mystery of The Lost Kingdom

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Hommage à Chen Zhong - Chen Zhong

Hommage à Chen Zhong - Chen Zhong
Chen Zhong (1919-2002) was a great master of Chinese music, a multi-instrumentalist particularly renowned for his skill on the xun and xiao flutes. He first gained international recognition in 1994, at the age of 75, with an overseas tour that included Japan, France and Switzerland. Zhong was recorded by Radio France in 1995 (Ocora C560090) and it was the success of that association that led to the release of these serene and intimate ensemble recordings, previously only available in China.

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Chinese Bamboo Flute Music - Various Artists

Chinese Bamboo Flute Music - Various Artists
Because it sounds great, is easy to learn, light to carry and inexpensive, the Dizi (Chinese Bamboo Flute) is one of most popular Chinese instruments in Asia.
The Dizi (also called D'Tzu or Zhu Di), is a side blown wind instrument made of Bamboo. The Dizi has a very simple structure: 1 blowhole, 1 membrane hole, 6 finger holes, and two pairs of holes in the end to correct the pitch and hang decorative tassels.

Tracklist:
01. A Tayal Folk Song
02. The Flower Of Hsin-Jang
03. Capriccio For Chinese Flute
04. The Funny Genius On The Horseback
05. Go Dating With My Love
06. The Maidens of the Tea Mountain
07. Chatting With An Old Friend By The Window
08. The Song Of The Four Seasons
09. The Crab And The Egret

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The Buddhist Nun of Emei Mountain

The Buddhist Nun of Emei Mountain
A film by Liang Bibo. The credits are at the end of the film. The film is put up by kind permission of Liang Bibo, a distinguished Chinese documentary film maker who works for Chengdu Television. Made in the later 1990s. There are twenty nuns living in the Fuhu temple practising Buddhism.

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Chinese Buddhist Music (Zen Mantra) - Various Artists

Chinese Buddhist Music (Zen Mantra) - Various Artists
In the Indian religions, a mantra (Devanāgarī मन्त्र) is a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that are considered capable of "creating transformation" (cf. spiritual transformation). Their use and type varies according to the school and philosophy associated with the mantra. Other purposes have included religious ceremonies to accumulate wealth, avoid danger, or eliminate enemies. Mantras originated in the Vedic tradition of India, later becoming an essential part of the Hindu tradition and a customary practice within Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism. The use of mantras is now widespread throughout various spiritual movements which are based on, or off-shoots of, the practices in the earlier Eastern traditions and religions.


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urning for the Buddha: Self-Immolation in Chinese Buddhism

Burning for the Buddha: Self-Immolation in Chinese Buddhism
Burning for the Buddha: Self-Immolation in Chinese Buddhism is the first book-length study of the theory and practice of "abandoning the body"(self-immolation) in Chinese Buddhism. Although largely ignored by conventional scholarship, the acts of self-immolators (which included not only burning the body, but also being devoured by wild animals, drowning oneself, and self-mummification, among others) form an enduring part of the religious tradition and provide a new perspective on the multifarious dimensions of Buddhist practice in China from the early medieval period to the present time. This book 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. His investigation leads him beyond traditional boundaries between Buddhist studies and sinology and draws on a wide range of canonical, historical, and polemical sources, many of them translated and analyzed for the first time in any language. Focusing on an aspect of religious practice that was seen as both extreme and heroic, Benn brings to the surface a number of deep and unresolved tensions within the religion itself and reveals some hitherto unsuspected aspects of the constantly shifting negotiations between the Buddhist community and the state.

Self-immolation in Chinese Buddhism was controversial, and Burning for the Buddha gives weight to the criticism and defense of the practice both within the Buddhist tradition and without. It places self-immolation in the context of Chinese Mahayana thought and explores its multiple religious, social, and historical roles. These new perspectives on an important mode of Buddhist practice as it was experienced and recorded in traditional China contribute to not only the study of Buddhism, but also the study of religion and the body.

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The Snow Lion and the Dragon: China, Tibet, and the Dalai Lama - Melvyn C. Goldstein

The Snow Lion and the Dragon: China, Tibet, and the Dalai Lama -
Melvyn C. Goldstein
Tensions over the "Tibet Question"--the political status of Tibet--are escalating every day. The Dalai Lama has gained broad international sympathy in his appeals for autonomy from China, yet the Chinese government maintains a hard-line position against it. What is the history of the conflict? Can the two sides come to an acceptable compromise? In this thoughtful analysis, distinguished professor and longtime Tibet analyst Melvyn C. Goldstein presents a balanced and accessible view of the conflict and a proposal for the future.
Tibet's political fortunes have undergone numerous vicissitudes since the fifth Dalai Lama first ascended to political power in Tibet in 1642. In this century, a forty-year period of de facto independence following the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911 ended abruptly when the Chinese Communists forcibly incorporated Tibet into their new state and began the series of changes that destroyed much of Tibet's traditional social, cultural, and economic system. After the death of Mao in 1976, the rise to power of Deng Xiaoping quickly produced a change in attitude in Beijing and a major initiative to negotiate with the Dalai Lama to solve the conflict. This failed. With the death of Deng Xiaoping, the future of Tibet is more uncertain than ever, and Goldstein argues that the conflict could easily erupt into violence.
Drawing upon his deep knowledge of the Tibetan culture and people, Goldstein takes us through the history of Tibet, concentrating on the political and cultural negotiations over the status of Tibet from the turn of the century to the present. He describes the role of Tibet in Chinese politics, the feeble and conflicting responses of foreign governments, overtures and rebuffs on both sides, and the nationalistic emotions that are inextricably entwined in the political debate. Ultimately, he presents a plan for a reasoned compromise, identifying key aspects of the conflict and appealing to the United States to play an active diplomatic role. Clearly written and carefully argued, this book will become the definitive source for anyone seeking an understanding of the Tibet Question during this dangerous turning point in its turbulent history.

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The Shaolin Monastery: History, Religion and the Chinese Martial Arts - Meir Shahar

The Shaolin Monastery: History, Religion and the Chinese Martial Arts - Meir Shahar
"The Shaolin Monastery" charts, for the first time in any language, the history of the Shaolin Temple and the evolution of its world-renowned martial arts. In this meticulously researched and eminently readable study, Meir Shahar considers the economic, political, and religious factors that led Shaolin monks to disregard the Buddhist prohibition against violence and instead create fighting techniques that by the twenty-first century have spread throughout the world. He reveals the intimate connection between monastic violence and the veneration of the violent divinities of Buddhism and analyzes the Shaolin association of martial discipline and the search for spiritual enlightenment.

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Buddhism and Taoism Face to Face: Scripture, Ritual, and Iconographic Exchange in Medieval China - Christine Mollier

Buddhism and Taoism Face to Face: Scripture, Ritual, and Iconographic Exchange in Medieval China - Christine Mollier
Christine Mollier reveals in this volume previously unexplored dimensions of the interaction between Buddhism and Taoism in medieval China. While scholars of Chinese religions have long recognized the mutual influences linking the two traditions, Mollier here brings to light their intense contest for hegemony in the domains of scripture and ritual. Drawing on a far-reaching investigation of canonical texts, together with manuscript sources from Dunhuang and the monastic libraries of Japan - many of them studied here for the first time - she demonstrates the competition and complementarity of the two great Chinese religions in their quest to address personal and collective fears of diverse ills, including sorcery, famine, and untimely death.

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Questions of Heaven - Gretel Ehrlich

Questions of Heaven - Gretel Ehrlich
As a practicing Buddhist, Gretel Ehrlich set out to climb Emie Shan, a sacred Buddhist mountain in China, to complete a personal spiritual quest. What she came away with was an understanding of the brutal effects of Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution on China's Buddhist population, and the politics and bitter realities of the collision between modernity and monastic life. Written in a lively and thoughtful style with plenty of exciting passages, Questions of Heaven chronicles Ehrlich's journey through China and its recent turbulent history in such a personal way that it draws the reader closer to the subject. From her conversations with monks and a heartbreaking visit to a panda refuge, Ehrlich discovers that the ancient Buddhist tradition lives on, though not in the manner she anticipated. Silencing both Buddhism and Taoism changed the complexion of China in unexpected ways, and this journal exposes the subtleties of this shift from the perspective of one who is able to bridge the cultural and political differences with her spiritual attachment.

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