Other religions and spiritual beliefs Books

The transformations Buddhism has been undergoing in the modern age have inspired much research over the last decade. The main focus of attention has been the phenomenon known as Buddhist modernism, which is defined as a conscious attempt to adjust...

Addressing the question of the origins of the Zoroastrian religion, this book argues that the intransigent opposition to the cult of the daēvas, the ancient Indo-Iranian gods, is the root of the development of the two central doctrines of Zoroastrianism:...

Power Tools for Power Kids offers practical tools to use intuition and inner guidance efficiently, to find stillness and inner power, to self-manage and to consciously direct energy, within and without, to practice various navigation and interconnection...

First published in 1990, East of Existentialism was written to explore new perspectives on eternal questions such as 'Who am I?', 'Why am I here?', and 'Where am I going?'.The book brings together insights from existentialism in the West and Hinduism,...

The multi-million copy international bestseller that has brought Confucius to a new, contemporary readership

For the first time, this influential study by Ludwig Alsdorf is made available to an English speaking audience, translated by Bal Patil. It focuses on two of the most pertinent issues in Indian religion, the history of vegetarianism and cow-veneration,...

Religious procession is a significant dimension of religion in South Asia. Processions are central not only in Hinduism, but also Islam, Christianity, Jainism and Sikhism, which have large procession rituals. The last years have seen an increase in...

A collection of essays delineating the centuries-long dialogue of Jews and Jewish culture with China, all under the overarching theme of cultural translation.

The Parsis are India's smallest minority community, yet they have exercised a huge influence on the country. As pioneers in education in nineteenth century India, and as leading figures in banking and commerce, medicine, law and journalism, they were at...

A captivating account of a young woman's apprenticeship to two South American shamans.

The Indian religion of Jainism, whose central tenet involves non-violence to all creatures, is one of the world's oldest and least-understood faiths. Dundas looks at Jainism in its social and doctrinal context, explaining its history, sects, scriptures...

This book offers a contemporary approach to the study of religion in modern South Asia. It explores the development of religious ideas and practices in the region, giving students a clear and critical understanding of social, political and historical...

For more than a millennium, the fox has been a ubiquitous figure at the margins of the Japanese collective imagination. In the writings of the nobility and the motifs of popular literature, the fox is known as a shapeshifter, able to assume various forms...

How were early Christians influenced by contemporary assumptions about ethnic and colour differences?Why were early Christian writers so attracted to the subject of Blacks, Egyptians, and Ethiopians?Looking at the neglected issue of race brings valuable...

This multi-sited ethnography considers the impact of contested definitions on the experiences and representations of Sindhi Hindus. Ramey recognizes how the dominant definitions of Hinduism, Islam, and Sikhism challenge communities who defy such...

Spirit Warriors is about people who have learned from a 400 year old tradition to combine meditative focus and spirituality to become fearless in the defense of religious freedom, in performance at work, and in the pursuit of joy.Learn from a lawyer,...

For Centuries, tension has existed between the East and West. There appears to be a hierarchy of cultures with the West perceiving the East as inferior, so much so that it is referred to simply as "the Other." Because today's world is globally...

An ethnographic study of the transnational and multicultural expansion of Vietnam's Mother Goddess Religion and its spirit possession ritual, this book is the product of collaborative research by an American anthropologist and a Vietnamese folklorist...

Shamans attract controversy and fascination well beyond their numbers. Personal experiences with them are based here on extensive fieldwork in several areas of Siberia and the Far East, including Khanty, Sakha, Tuvan, and Buriat regions. Balzer outlines...

Afro-Eccentricity explores three overlapping stories of Black Religion: the Soul, Black Church, and Ancestor Narratives. Hart contends that these narratives dominate most accounts of Black Religion that, collectively, he calls the "Standard Narrative of...

The key to becoming fully alive and joyful is to develop our natural capacity for attention and to be fully present here and now. In this informative guidebook to practical Buddhism you discover: How to live life with equanimity, loving-kindness,...

A leading expert on native spirituality and shamanism reveals the four archetypal principles of the Native American medicine wheel and how they can lead us to a higher spirituality and a better world.