amid
Letters of the Nun Eshinni: Images of Pure Land Buddhism in
ISBN: , SKU: , AUTHOR: Dobbins, James C., PUBLISHER: University of Hawaii Press, Eshinni (?), a Buddhist nun and the wife of Shinran (), the celebrated founder of the True Pure Land, or Shin, school of Buddhism, was largely unknown until the discovery of a collection of her letters in . In this study, James C. Dobbins, a leading scholar of Pure Land Buddhism, has made creative use of these letters to shed new light on life and religion in medieval Japan. He provides a complete translation of the letters and an explication of them that reveals the character and flavor of early Shin Buddhism. Readers will come away with a new perspective on Pure Land scholarship and a vivid image of Eshinni and the world in which she lived. After situating the ideas and practices of Pure Land Buddhism in the context of the actual living conditions of thirteenth-century Japan, Dobbins examines the portrayal of women in Pure Land Buddhism, the great range of lifestyles found among medieval women and nuns, and how they constructed a meaningful religious life amid negative stereotypes. He goes on to analyze aspects of medieval religion that have been omitted in our modern-day account of Pure Land and tries to reconstruct the religious assumptions of Eshinni and Shinran in their own day. A prevailing theme that runs throughout the book is the need to look beyond idealized images of Buddhism found in doctrine to discover the religion as it was lived and practiced. Scholars and students of Buddhism, Japanese history, women's studies, and religious studies will find much in this engaging work that is thought-provoking and insightful.
The Healing Land: The Bushmen and the Kalahari Desert
ISBN: , SKU: , AUTHOR: Isaacson, Rupert, PUBLISHER: Grove/Atlantic, Brought up on stories and myths of the Kalahari Bushmen, Rupert Isaacson journeys to the dry vast grassland -- which stretches across South Africa, Botswana, and Namibia -- to find out the truth behind these childhood stories. Deep in the Kalahari, Isaacson meets the last groups of Bushmen still living the traditional way, caught between their ancient culture and the growing need to protect and reclaim their dwindling hunting grounds. Little by little he is drawn into the fascinating web of ritual and prophecy that make up the Bushman reality. He hears of shamans who turn into lions, sees leopards conjured from the landscape as though by magic. He attends trance-inducing dances and witnesses incredible healings. But he also sees the heart-wrenching social problems of a dispossessed people. What follows is an adventure of an intensity he never could have predicted. The Healing Land records Isaacson's personal transformation amid these extraordinary people, and his passionate contribution to their political struggle. It captures his enchantment with the character, corruption, kindness, and confusion of a place that has wrenched itself from the Stone Age into the new millennium. " This] story... has never been told... by a narrator so openhearted, optimistic, and vulnerable to enchantment.... Highly recommended." -- Rian Malan "A more clear-sighted view of the Bushmen] is long overdue -- which makes Rupert Isaacson's book most welcome." -- The Economist "This is a traveller's book as well as a memoir.... It is well written, engaging, and enlightening." -- Johannesburg Citizen "A beautifully written account that simultaneously intrigues, educates, and fascinates." -- Marie Claire
Balloons Can Be Murder
ISBN: , SKU: , AUTHOR: Shelton, Connie, PUBLISHER: Intrigue Press, "Shelton has created a lively hero in Charlie and puts her into situations that require prompt action and good common sense. A Charlie Parker mystery is always a good read."-"Southwest BookViews Three days before the start of the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, balloon pilot Rachael Fairfield walks into the offices of RJP Investigations. She received a threatening note, which she believes came from her father, a convicted felon whom she sent to prison 15 years earlier. To complicate matters, her brother has initiated a huge publicity campaign for the world altitude record Rachael plans to attempt on the final Sunday of the fiesta. It seems simple enough. Charlie and her brother Ron will locate William Fairfield and keep him away from Rachael for the duration of the fiesta. But as they follow leads on William Fairfield, the threats escalate, and Ron and Charlie start to wonder whether he's really the stalker. Amid the color and beauty of the world's largest ballooning event, Charlie also finds herself at odds with her husband and reassessing her life's priorities. Only when she nearly loses her own life do the answers begin to fall into place. Connie Shelton is a lifelong mystery fan who wanted to be Nancy Drew when she grew up. Now she relives her mystery fantasies through her Charlie Parker series. In addition to writing the series, she has served as president of her local writers group and is active in Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America. Shelton is also a frequent speaker at writing and publishing conferences. She lives in northern New Mexico and central Arizona with her husband, author and helicopter pilot Dan Shelton.
A Better Way to Make a Living...and a Life
ISBN: , SKU: , AUTHOR: Bourke, Peter, PUBLISHER: Xulon Press, "Why does work dominate my life?" "Why can't I do work that I feel better suited to do?" "Is this what God intended when He conceived work?" More than half of working Americans (75 million people) are unhappy with their career and these are the questions they struggle to answer. We're misemployed, overworked, financially strained, and dissatisfied with the lack of balance in our lives. This book is written for this chronically-frustrated majority of today's workforce "A Better Way" provides a Christ-centered perspective, practical strategies and inspiring personal stories to help workers become proactive about career and life choices amid today's intimidating employment trends. "A Better Way to Make a Living...and a Life is engaging, practical and a reliable help for those looking for exactly that. Read Peter's book and map your path to the career and life God designed for you." Chuck Bentley, CEO, Crown Financial Ministries Peter Bourke is the volunteer Chairman of Crossroads Career Network and a Principal at The Complex Sale, a sales training firm. Peter has nearly 30 years of experience with companies large and small, most recently as President of a $350M outsourcing and human capital consulting organization. Peter is a student of people's work, careers, and their faith: "God doesn't intend for the majority of working people to be unhappy doing what occupies most of their time. My mission is to challenge, educate, and inspire today's workers to find a better way to work and live- that leverages their God-given talents; is consistent with God's purpose for their lives; that capitalizes on today's work environment; and that gives them a sense of God's peace." Peter and his wifeDevonie live in Alpharetta, Ga. with their three grown daughters and son-in-law, where they are active at Northpoint Community Church.
The Spirit of Father Damien: The Leper Priest
ISBN: , SKU: , AUTHOR: De Volder, Jan / Steffen, John / Allen, John L., PUBLISHER: Ignatius Press, Father Damien, famous for his missionary work with exiled lepers on the Hawaiian island of Molokai, is finally Saint Damien. His sanctity took 120 years to become officially recognized, but between his death in and his canonization in --amid creeping secularization and suspicion of the missionary spirit he so much embodied--Fr. Damien De Veuster never faded from the world's memory. What kept him there? What keeps him there now? To find an answer, Belgian historian and journalist Jan De Volder sifted through Father Damien's personal correspondence as well as the Vatican archives. With careful and even-handed expertise, De Volder follows Father Damien's transformation from the stout, somewhat haughty missionary of his youth, bounding from Europe to Hawaii and straight into seemingly tireless priestly work, to the humble and loving shepherd of souls who eventually succumbed to the same disease that ravaged his flock. De Volder finds that--as spiritual father, caretaker, teacher, and advocate--Father Damien accomplished many heroic feats for these poor outcasts. Yet the greatest gift he gave them was their transformation from a disordered, lawless throng exiled in desperate anarchy into a living community built on Jesus Christ, a community in which they learned to care for one another. Every generation seems to have its own image of this world-famous priest. Already during his life on Molokai and at his death in , many considered him a holy man. Even today, in the highly secularized Western world, he is widely admired. In his native Belgium honored him with the title "the greatest Belgian" in polling conducted by their public broadcasting service. Statues honor his memory in the National Statuary Hall of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., and at the entrance to the Hawaiian State Capitol in Honolulu. In , in the presence of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Pope John Paul II beatified him in Brussels, Belgium; and in Pope Benedict XVI canonized him in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Today Father Damien is the unofficial patron of outcasts and those afflicted with HIV/AIDS. "Illustrated with many photos." De Volder contends that the common thread running through the saint's life, the spirit of Father Damien that so speaks to the world, is at once uniquely Christian, fully human, and as important today as ever before.
Where Angels Fear to Tread - The Original Classic Edition
ISBN: , SKU: , AUTHOR: E. M. Forster, PUBLISHER: Tebbo, Finally available, a high quality book of the original classic edition of Where Angels Fear to Tread. This is a new and freshly published edition of this culturally important work by E. M. Forster, which is now, at last, again available to you. Enjoy this classic work today. These selected paragraphs distill the contents and give you a quick look inside Where Angels Fear to Tread: Gothard tunnel, presaging the future; the view of the Ticino and Lago Maggiore as the train climbed the slopes of Monte Cenere; the view of Lugano, the view of Como-Italy gathering thick around her now-the arrival at her first resting-place, when, after long driving through dark and dirty streets, she should at last behold, amid the roar of trams and the glare of arc lamps, the buttresses of the cathedral of Milan....Harriet, if she had been allowed, would have driven Lilia to an open rupture, and, what was worse, she would have done the same to Philip two years before, when he returned full of passion for Italy, and ridiculing Sawston and its ways....Herriton flew to a registry office, failed; flew to another, failed again; came home, was told by the housemaid that things seemed so unsettled that she had better leave as well; had tea, wrote six letters, was interrupted by cook and housemaid, both weeping, asking her pardon, and imploring to be taken back....As they drew near, Philip saw the heads of people gathering black upon the walls, and he knew well what was happening-how the news was spreading that a stranger was in sight, and the beggars were aroused from their content and bid to adjust their deformities; how the alabaster man was running for his wares, and the Authorized Guide running for his peaked cap and his two cards of recommendation-one from Miss MGee, Maida Vale, the other, less valuable, from an Equerry to the Queen of Peru; how some one else was running to tell the landlady of the Stella dItalia to put on her pearl necklace and brown boots and empty the slops from the spare bedroom; and how the landlady was running to tell Lilia and her boy that their fate was at hand....Afterwards, in the church, I prayed for us all; not for anything new, but that we might just be as we were-he with the child he loved, you and I and Harriet safe out of the place-and that I might never see him or speak to him again.
Lincoln in American Memory
ISBN: , SKU: , AUTHOR: Peterson, Merrill D., PUBLISHER: Oxford University Press, USA, Lincoln's death, like his life, was an event of epic proportions. When the president was struck down at his moment of triumph, writes Merrill Peterson, "sorrow--indescribable sorrow" swept the nation. After lying in state in Washington, Lincoln's body was carried by a special funeral train to Springfield, Illinois, stopping in major cities along the way; perhaps a million people viewed the remains as memorial orations rang out and the world chorused its sincere condolences. It was the apotheosis of the martyred President--the beginning of the transformation of a man into a mythic hero. In Lincoln in American Memory, historian Merrill Peterson provides a fascinating history of Lincoln's place in the American imagination from the hour of his death to the present. In tracing the changing image of Lincoln through time, this wide-ranging account offers insight into the evolution and struggles of American politics and society--and into the character of Lincoln himself. Westerners, Easterners, even Southerners were caught up in the idealization of the late President, reshaping his memory and laying claim to his mantle, as his widow, son, memorial builders, and memorabilia collectors fought over his visible legacy. Peterson also looks at the complex responses of blacks to the memory of Lincoln, as they moved from exultation at the end of slavery to the harsh reality of free life amid deep poverty and segregation; at more than one memorial event for the great emancipator, the author notes, blacks were excluded. He makes an engaging examination of the flood of reminiscences and biographies, from Lincoln's old law partner William H. Herndon to Carl Sandburg and beyond. Serious historians were late in coming to the topic; for decades the myth-makers sought to shape the image of the hero President to suit their own agendas. He was made a voice of prohibition, a saloon-keeper, an infidel, a devout Christian, the first Bull Moose Progressive, a military blunderer and (after the First World War) a military genius, a white supremacist (according to D.W. Griffith and other Southern admirers), and a touchstone for the civil rights movement. Through it all, Peterson traces five principal images of Lincoln: the savior of the Union, the great emancipator, man of the people, first American, and self-made man. In identifying these archtypes, he tells us much not only of Lincoln but of our own identity as a people. More than thirty years ago, Peterson won the prestigious Bancroft Prize for The Jefferson Image in the American Mind. The New York Times Book Review hailed it as "an engrossing story of the uses and abuses of a great legend," saying that Peterson's writing is often "brilliant." This absorbing book follows in the footsteps of that landmark work, leading us on a revealing tour through our changing image of our greatest president--and our changing image of ourselves.