The temple, cemetery and family mansion of Confucius, the great philosopher, politician and educator of the 6th-5th centuries B.C., are located at Qufu, Shandong Province. Built to commemorate him in 478 B.C., the temple has been destroyed and reconstructed over the centuries; today it comprises more than 100 buildings.The cemetery contains Confucius' tomb and the remains of more than 100,000 of his descendants. The small house of the Kong family developed into a gigantic aristocratic residence, of which 152 buildings remain. The Qufu complex of monuments has retained its outstanding artistic and historic character due to the devotion of successive Chinese emperors over more than 2,000 years.
Different styles of martial arts offer contradictoryinformation, philosophies, and techniques for the body in combat. Apractitioner of Judo might advocate grappling, reasoning that mostfights converge into close range after a short time, when anadvocate of Tae Kwon Do would argue that one should strive tomaintain one's distance in an encounter that would allow one to usethe legs, the most powerful weapon on the human body. As a lifelong student and teacher of multiple styles of martialarts, Steven Pearlman has sought to distill from these disciplinesnot a fusion of techniques, but rather a compilation of fundamentalprinciples that can guide the individual martial artist to theideal action. Through his exploration of a set of basic principlesthat range from the physical (spinal alignment, the triangularguard, breathing) to the spiritual (the void, the body-mind, thecharacter), Pearlman arrives at a system open to all martialartists without bastardizing the techniques of the originaldisciplines.
Not just another youth Bible - it's edgy, appealing, feature-packed, and challenging. Planet Word will push tweens to find ways they can impact their community and the world. This Bible is designed to appeal to the global and multicultural perspective of young people. It challenges them to see beyond themselves and make a difference in the world now - instead of waiting until they are adults.
The game of Chinese Chess (called "Elephant Chess" in China) hasbeen played for centuries, and is one of the most popular boardgames in the world. In Chinese Chess, author H. T. Lau explains thegame's fundamentals--the rules, the board, and the basic moves andvalues of pieces--with clear examples and over 170 diagrams. Once he's covered the basics, Lau introducesbasic tactics, methods for escaping difficult posi-tions, andcunning strategies for winning. The book also includes eighty mid- and end-gameexercises designed to sharpen playing skills, and concludes withtwo appendixes devoted to the elegantly constructed games found inThe Secret Inside the Orange and The Plum-Blossom Meter, two classic seventeenth-century works about Chinese Chess.
The year 2010 is the Chinese Year of the Tiger -- what will this mean for you? This complete guide contains all the predictions you will need to take you into the year ahead -- a year which offers great hope, advancement and opportunity. The ancient art of Chinese astrology, which predates the Western zodiac, is a detailed system of divination that has been in use in the Orient for thousands of years. The depth of its wisdom and the accuracy of its character analysis and prediction has caught the imagination of the Western world in recent years and led to a rapid rise in its popularity. This popular and enlightening bestselling guide -- now in its 21st year -- includes: / Everything you need to know about the 12 signs of the Chinese zodiac / An explanation of the Five Elements: metal, water, wood, fire and earth, and which one governs your sign / Individual predictions to help you find love, luck and success / What the Year of the Tiger has in store for you, your family, your loved ones and friends.
A landmark new translation of the sacred text of Islam- in anelegant deluxe edition Literally "the recitation," The Qur'an is considered within theMuslim faith to be the infallible word of God. Tarif Khalidi, theforemost scholar of Islamic history and faith, provides a freshEnglish translation that captures the startling, exquisite poetryof one of the world's most beloved religious texts. Retaining thestructure and rhythms of the original Arabic, Khalidi enlivens theancient teachings and prophetic narratives central to the Muslimfaith and solidifies The Qur'an as a work of spiritual authorityand breathtaking beauty.
Regarded by Susan Sontag as "one of the most uncompromising and troubling witnesses to the modern travail of the spirit," Weil grips the moral imagination as few others before or since.
Holman Bible Publishers is pleased to offer its first student Bible featuring the popular Holman Christian Standard Bible translation, combining biblical accuracy with modern readability like never before. A visually driven product for a visually driven culture, The Holman Student Bible enhances the study of God's Word with colorful page designs, explanatory sidebars, engaging study questions, and many other reading helps that are especially relevant to the development of true faith among this new generation.
Feng shui is the 3,000-year-old Chinese art that looks at how objects affect energy, an important concern when arranging furniture, building a home, or planting a garden. There are several different variations of feng shui, which has led to confusion about its most basic principles. Clear Englebert explains the differences and then discusses how to put feng shui into practice. He addresses concerns about architectural features such as doors and windows, about finding the right place to situate beds and other furniture, and about landscaping. Other topics include removing clutter, creating empowered positions, avoiding "poison arrows," and what to know about clocks, mirrors, glass, air circulation, and the five elements. Straightforward and comprehensive, this guide enables anyone to practice the art of feng shui for a more peaceful and harmonious living environment.
Live a life of peace, love, and happiness through spiritualawakening In Wake Up Now , author Stephan Bodian--nationallyrecognized expert on meditation and spirituality and formereditor-in-chief of Yoga Journal --reveals that spiritualawakening is not some faraway dream, or overly complicated toachieve, but an ever-present reality that is always available hereand now. Based on his own experience and over 30 years of teaching thedirect approach to spiritual awakening, Bodian has broken down theawakening process into five overlapping, loosely sequential stages:seeking, awakening, deepening and clarifying, embodying, and livingthe awakened life. Wake Up Now guides you through everystage of the journey, from the process of seeking through the oftenprolonged and challenging process of integrating the awakening intoeveryday life. "This book is one of the most concise guides to spiritualawakening I have read. Both profound and practical, it guides thereader through the intricacies of awakening as only someo
In this "rare book that combines searing passion . . . with asubject that has affected all of our lives" (Chicago Tribune), thenovelist and cultural critic James Carroll maps thetwo-thousand-year course of the Church's battle against Judaism andfaces the crisis of faith it has sparked in his own life as aCatholic. "Fascinating, brave and sometimes infuriating" (Time),this dark history is more than a chronicle of religion. It is thecentral tragedy of Western civilization, its fault lines reachingdeep into our culture. Drawing on his well-known talents as astoryteller and memoirist, Carroll has created "a deeply felt work,a book that measures the "sweep of history" against [his]experience as a man of the church" (San Francisco Chronicle). Acourageous and affecting reckoning with difficult truths that willtouch every reader, "CONSTANTINE'S SWORD is a history written tochange the way people live" (Talk).
In this remarkable book, Martin Buber presents the essential teachings of Hasidism, the mystical Jewish movement which swept Eastern Europe in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Told through stories of imagination and spirit, together with his own unique insights, Buber offers us a way of understanding ourselves and our place in a spiritual world. Challenging us to recognize our own potential and to reach our true goal, this is a life-enhancing book.
In 1202, zealous western Christians gathered in Venicedetermined to liberate Jerusalem from the grip of Islam. But thecrusaders never made it to the Holy Land. Steered forward by theshrewd Venetian doge, they descended instead on Constantinople,wreaking devastation so terrible and inflicting scars so deep thatas recently as 2001 Pope John Paul II offered an apology to theGreek Orthodox Church. The crusaders spared no one: They raped and massacred thousands,plundered churches, and torched the lavish city. A prostitutedanced on the altar of the ravaged Hagia Sophia. And by 1204,barbarism masquerading as piety had shattered one of the greatcivilizations of history. Here, on the eight hundredth anniversaryof the sack, is the extraordinary story of this epic catastrophe,told for the first time outside of academia by Jonathan Phillips, aleading expert on the crusades. Knights and commoners, monastic chroniclers, courtly troubadours,survivors of the carnage, and even Pope Innocent III left vividac
Raja and Nilu are fated to fall in love. They both have been abandoned—he through his mother’s suicide inthe public pond, she through her mother’s constant escape intodrink. He has grown up on the streets, she in a crumbling mansion.And yet, they find each other, again and again. First when they arechildren. Then when they are young lovers. And finally after theyboth fear they have lost their marriage. But the events of thepast, even those we are ignorant of, inevitably haunt the present.And Raja and Nilu’s story is not only their own. Using Nepal’s political upheavals as a backdrop to demonstratehow we are irreparably connected to past and home, Buddha’s Orphansis an engrossing, unconventional love story, a seductive,transporting read, and further evidence that Samrat Upadhyay is oneof our finest writers, thoroughly deserving of his acclaim as “theBuddhist Chekhov” and comparisons to Amitav Ghosh, William Trevor,and Jhumpa Lahiri.
This remarkable book takes as its subject one of the most outstanding men that ever lived. The ultimate prodigy, Leonardo da Vinci was an artist of great originality and power, a scientist, and a powerful thinker. According to Sigmund Freud, he was also a flawed, repressed homosexual. The first psychosexual history to be published, Leonardo da Vinci was the only biography the great psychoanalyst wrote. When Jung first saw it, he told Freud it was 'wonderful', and it remained Freud's favourite composition. The text includes the first full emergence of the concept of narcissism and develops Freud's theories of homosexuality. While based upon controversial research, the book offers a fascinating insight into two men - the subject and the author. If you've ever wondered just what lies behind the Mona Lisa's enigmatic smile, read Freud on Leonardo. It's genius on genius.
"The Koran" is universally accepted by Muslims to be theinfallible Word of God as first revealed to the Prophet Muhammad bythe Angel Gabriel nearly fourteen hundred years ago. Its 114chapters, or surahs, recount the narratives central to Muslimbelief, and together they form one of the world's most influentialprophetic works and a literary masterpiece in its own right. Butabove all, the "Koran" provides the rules of conduct that remainfundamental to the Muslim faith today: prayer, fasting, pilgrimageto Mecca and absolute faith in God.
A history so funny, so true, so scary, it's bound to becalled a conspiracy. "Meticulous in its research, forensic in itsreasoning, robust in its argument, and often hilarious in itsdebunking, Voodoo Histories is a highly entertaining rumblewith the century's major conspiracy theorists and their theories"(John Lahr). From Pearl Harbor to 9/11 to the assassination of JFKto the Birthers, Aaronvitch probes and explores the majorconspiracy theories (and theorists) of our time. In doing so, heexamines why people believe these conspiracies and makes anargument for a true skepticism.
"The Psychedelic Experience", created by the prophetic shaman-professors Timothy Leary, Ralph Metzer and Richard Alpert, is a foundational text that serves as a model and a guide for all subsequent mind-expanding inquiries. In this wholly unique book, the authors provide an interpretation of an ancient sacred manu*, the "Tibetan Book of the Dead", from a psychedelic perspective. "The Psychedelic Experience" describes their discoveries in broadening spiritual consciousness through a combination of Tibetan mediation techniques and psychotropic substances.
Karl Barth was, without doubt, one of the most significant religious thinkers of modern times. His radical affirmation of the revealed truth of Christianity changed the course of Christian theology in the twentieth century and is a source of inspiration for countless believers.
From ancient Palestine through Europe and Asia, to America andmodern Israel, Max I. Dimont shows how the saga of the Jews isinterwoven with the story of virtually every nation on earth.--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
Hitchens takes on his biggest subject yet--the increasingly dangerous role of religion in the world. With insight and wit, he describes the ways in which religion is man-made, immoral, and repressive and argues for a new enlightenment through science and reason. (World Religions)
