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Buddha For Beginners, Stephen Asma

Stephen T Asma

Originally published by Writers and Readers in 1998, this is an iconoclastic, illustrated romp through the life of the Buddha both a credible exploration of his life and teachings and an entertaining introduction to the philosophy of Buddhism.

Many Westerners know about the meditation practices of Buddhism, but few understand the Buddha's philosophical teachings. This book puts the teachings (dharma) in their proper context and unravels some of the more dense knots of Buddha's thinking. And it does all this while entertaining the reader with humorous illustrations and pop-culture sensibility. This primer, constructed like a graphic novel, cuts through the …

The Gods Drink Whiskey: Stumbling Toward Enlightenment In The Land Of The Tattered Buddha, Stephen Asma

Stephen T Asma

Asma, a professor of Buddhism at Columbia College in Chicago and the author of Stuffed Animals and Pickled Heads (2001), recounts his intense and revelatory Cambodian adventures while teaching at Phnom Penh's Buddhist Institute. In an electrifying and frank mix of hair-raising anecdotes and expert analysis, he explicates the vast difference between text-based Buddhist teachings and daily life in a poor and politically volatile Buddhist society. Amid tales of massage parlors, marijuana-spiced pizza, and bloodshed, he cogently explains how Theravada Buddhism, the form practiced throughout Southeast Asia, differs from the Buddhism Westerners are familiar with, and how entwined it is …

Conflicting Visions Of The Real: Christianity, Buddhism & Baudrillard In The Matrix Films And Popular Culture, James Mcgrath

James F. McGrath

James McGrath's contribution to the proceedings of the first global conference of the Cyberworlds, Virtual Reality project, which took place from Monday 11 August - Wednesday 13 August 2003, in Prague, as part of the At the Interface conference series.

The Numinous And Modernity: An Interpretation Of Rudolf Otto's Philosophy Of Religion, Todd Gooch

Todd Gooch

The author traces the development of Rudolf Otto’s attempt to construct a normative science of religion. This should respond to concerns facing Protestant theologians in Germany at the turn of the century. Moreover, he examines the reception of Otto’s ideas after World War One. The volume contains name and subject indexes.

Reviewed by:

Gregory D. Alles, The Journal of Religion 83:4 (Oct. 2003), 654-656.

Hans Waldenfels, S.J., Theologische Literaturzeitung 127:6 (Oct. 2002), 673-674.