#bk05

The  ​Abhidharma is the work done by the monks which came after the Buddha. They systematically organized, categorized and expounded upon the doctrines outlined in the Buddhas original discourses.

It is a scholarly work. It is dry to some. To others is is a fertile ground for understanding. Do you need to read this book and understand it to attain enlightenment? No. The authors say as much but knowledge is a good thing and it really helped me understand the doctrine of dependent origination.

“Archetypes constitute the structure of the collective unconscious - they are psychic innate dispositions to experience and represent basic human behavior and specific situations. Thus mother-child relationship is governed by the mother archetype. Father-child - by the father archetype. Birth, death, power and failure are controlled by archetypes. The religious and mystique experiences are also governed by archetypes.

The most important of all is the Self, which is the archetype of the Center of the psychic person, his/her totality or wholeness. The Center is made of the conjunction of consciousness and unconscious reached through the individuation process.

Archetypes manifest themselves through archetypal images in all the cultures and religious systems, in dreams and visions. Therefore a great deal of Jungian interest in psyche focuses on interpretation of dreams and symbols in order to discover the compensation induced by archetypes as marks of psyche transformation (source)

The basic premise of The Denial of Death is that human civilization is ultimately an elaborate, symbolic defense mechanism against the knowledge of our mortality, which in turn acts as the emotional and intellectual response to our basic survival mechanism. Becker argues that a basic duality in human life exists between the physical world of objects and a symbolic world of human meaning.

Human beings know they are going to die but still possess the animal’s instinct for survival at any costs. This simple dichotomy creates not just all art, religion and philosophy but also the deep anxiety of the newly awakened human being.

Shamseddin Hafez, although born some six hundred years ago in southern Iran, is a contemporary and universal poet. Wherever Persian is known, he is easily recited by both King and common man. Even illiterates will recite a memorized verse of Hafez. 

Those uncertain about love, the future or any other situation, open a page of his collection of Poems at random and in it see their dilemmas untangled. 

His turn of phrase has enriched the Persian lexicon and, even more than Shakespeare in English, has entered everyday language. This has made him the Persian culture’s most read, quoted and revered figure.

His verse not only gives a panoramic insight into the culture of Persia but also window into understanding the universal soul.

As E.G. Browne has commented: "Bells translations are true poetry of a very high order and, are probably the finest and most truly poetical renderings of any Persian poet ever produced in the English language."

In this clearly written undergraduate textbook, Stephen Laumakis explains the origin and development of Buddhist ideas and concepts, focusing on the philosophical ideas and arguments presented and defended by selected thinkers and sutras from various traditions. He starts with a sketch of the Buddha and the Dharma, and highlights the origins of Buddhism in India. He then considers specific details of the Dharma with special attention to Buddhist metaphysics and epistemology, and examines the development of Buddhism in China, Japan, and Tibet, concluding with the ideas of the Dalai Lama and Thich Nhat Hanh. In each chapter he includes explanations of key terms and teachings, excerpts from primary source materials, and presentations of the arguments for each position. His book will be an invaluable guide for all who are interested in this rich and vibrant philosophy.

A weaver by trade and a mystic by nature, the 15-century poet Kabir created timeless works of enlightenment that combine the philosophies of Sufism, Hinduism, and the Kabbala. Expressed in imagery drawn from common life and the universal experience, Kabir's poems possess an appealing simplicity. This collection of 100 songs reflects nearly every aspect of the mystic's thought and emotions: ecstasy and despair, tranquil beatitude and fervid illumination, and moments of intimate love. The acclaimed translation is by Rabindranath Tagore, a popular Indian poet and Nobel laureate.

Welcome to the Monkey House is a collection of Kurt Vonnegut’s shorter works. Originally printed in publications as diverse as The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and The Atlantic Monthly, these superb stories share Vonnegut’s audacious sense of humor and extraordinary range of creative vision.