Asian Religions

The Souls of China tells the story of one of the world's great spiritual revivals. Following a century of violent antireligious campaigns, China is now filled with new temples, churches, and mosques - as well as cults, sects, and politicians trying to harness religion for their own ends. Driving this explosion of faith is uncertainty - over what it means to be Chinese and how to live an ethical life in a country that discarded traditional morality a century ago and is searching for new guideposts.

India has a rich history covering thousands of years, civilizations, the rise of religions and empires, British rule, revolution, independence, and much more. In this book, we explore the magnificent history of India, from its ancient origins to its renaissance and concluding with its independence as a free nation. While there are many books that explore India’s unique history, few are enjoyable. Most books are hopelessly dry, academic, and downright difficult to follow. This concise history will respect your time by getting right to the point and giving you what you came to learn.

The Analects or Selected Sayings is an ancient Chinese text comprising sayings and wisdom teachings attributed to Confucius and his contemporaries, as well as fragmentary dialogues between the philosopher and his students. The Analects has been one of the most influential books in China for the last two millennia, and continues to contribute to Chinese and East Asian culture and thought.

In the late nineteenth century, a group of German-speaking Mennonites traveled from Russia into Central Asia, where their charismatic leader predicted Christ would return. Over a century later, Sofia Samatar joins a tour following their path, fascinated not by the hardships of their journey, but by its aftermath: the establishment of a small Christian village in the Muslim Khanate of Khiva. Named Ak Metchet, "The White Mosque," after the Mennonites' whitewashed church, the village lasted for fifty years.

For a brief moment on December 27, 2007, life came to a standstill in Pakistan. Benazir Bhutto, the country's former prime minister and the first woman ever to lead a Muslim country, had been assassinated at a political rally just outside Islamabad. Back in Karachi--Bhutto's birthplace and Pakistan's other great metropolis--Rafia Zakaria's family was suffering through a crisis of its own: her uncle Sohail, the man who had brought shame upon the family, was near death.

Explore the Hindu religion with its fascinating rituals and history! This audiobook has eye-opening information about Hinduism that will help you to understand the religion, gods, beliefs, and rituals and how the religion has evolved over time. You will discover more than you ever imagined exists in Hinduism, and by the end of this audiobook, you’ll know a lot about a religion that has over one billion followers worldwide.

A big part of Hindu and Indian mythology is the lengthy Mahabharata, with stories about princes, princesses, monsters, and many mysterious creatures. Krishna is one of the prominent figures in many ancient mythology writings from this region, and his victories over evil have been applauded and believed by many.

Author David Shi explores the history and practice of shamanism. What is it? Where is it from? How does one become a shaman? Shi guides listeners through unfamiliar territory—the landscape of North Asia—and through what are largely hidden and unfamiliar traditions. Spirit Voices takes and in-depth look at three main cultural shamanic traditions: Turkic, Mongolic, and Tungus.

‘The Three Asian Wise Men - Confucius, Lao Tzu, Buddha’ is a collection of quotes and sayings by the three great ancient sages, whose words of wisdom continue to influence Chinese society to this day. Architects of the three teachings: Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, they created the idea of Yin and Yang, going with the flow, reincarnation, benevolent leadership and many others.

Using historical archives and primary documents, former Library of Congress historian Andrei Znamenski reveals the strange accounts of the Bolsheviks’ clandestine quest for ultimate power. Red Shambhala details the attempts of Marxist revolutionary and cryptographer Gleb Bokii and occult writer Alexander Barchenko to create a divine era of Communism by tapping into the power of Shambhala, a mythic land of pure bliss where inhabitants enjoyed god-like capabilities.

This book takes you all the way from India’s prehistoric beginnings at Mohenjo-daro to the development of Buddhism and the Maurya Empire, the Hindu empires of the Middle Ages, the Mughals who brought Islam to the mix (and created the Taj Mahal), the British Raj, and finally the fight for independence and the modern yet ageless India of today.

Attract good fortune and joy to every aspect of your life. Pamela Chen and Samantha Blossom teach you how to use ancient, Far Eastern magic in a modernized way, no matter your background or experience level. With their help, you can create your unique revolution through sacred devotional practices that anyone can tap into immediately.

In the West, Hinduism is a religion that everyone has heard of but one that few non-practitioners truly understand. Today it is widely regarded as one of the world’s great religions and considered the indigenous religion of India, with practices and beliefs stretching back thousands of years. Sri Krishna, believed to be the eighth incarnation of Vishnu, is without question one of the most popular and instantly recognizable deities within the Hindu pantheon, which encompasses hundreds of Puranic divine beings.

Among Buddhist traditions, Zen has been remarkably successful in garnering and sustaining interest outside the Buddhist homelands of Asia, and "zen" is now part of the global cultural lexicon. This deeply informed book explores the history of this enduring Japanese tradition - from its beginnings as a form of Buddhist thought and practice imported from China to its reinvention in medieval Japan as a force for religious, political, and cultural change to its role in Japan's embrace of modernity.

In 1943, Austrian adventurer Heinrich Harrer escaped from a British internment camp in India and traveled through the rugged Himalayas seeking refuge from the war. He ended up in the Forbidden City of Lhasa in Tibet, with no money or permission to be in the country. His intelligence and his European ways intrigued the curious young Dalai Lama, and Harrer became his tutor and trusted confidant.

In December 2010 residents of Kalimpong, a town on the Indian border with Tibet, turned out en masse to welcome the Dalai Lama. It was only then they realized for the first time that the neighbor they knew as the noodle maker of Kalimpong was also the Dalai Lama's older brother. The Tibetan spiritual leader had come to visit the Gaden Tharpa Choling monastery and join his brother for lunch in the family compound.

ശിലായുഗകാലം മുതല്‍ ക്രിസ്തുവര്‍ഷം 1500 വരെയുള്ള കേരളത്തിന്റെ സമഗ്രമായ സാമൂഹിക-സാംസ്‌കാരിക-രാഷ്ട്രീയ-സാമ്പത്തിക ചരിത്രം. പ്രാക് ചരിത്രം, ആദ്യകാല കുടിയേറ്റക്കാര്‍, ചേരന്‍മാരുടെ വരവ്, പാണ്ഡ്യന്‍മാരുടെ സമുദ്രാധിപത്യം,ബ്രാഹ്മണ കുടിയേറ്റവും ബ്രാഹ്മണമേധാവിത്വവും, പെരുമാള്‍വാഴ്ചയ്ക്കിടയായ സാഹചര്യം, ചോളമേധാവിത്വം, സാമൂതിരി യുഗം.

Zulaikha hopes. She hopes for peace, now that the Taliban have been driven from Afghanistan; a good relationship with her hard stepmother; and one day even to go to school, or to have her cleft palate fixed. Zulaikha knows all will be provided for her "Inshallah," God willing. Then she meets Meena, who offers to teach her the Afghan poetry she taught her late mother. And the Americans come to her village, promising not just new opportunities and dangers, but surgery to fix her face. These changes could mean a whole new life for Zulaikhabut can she dare to hope they'll come true?

Après sa Divine Comédie, voyage sonore dans la Mythologie européenne, la romancière Amélie Nothomb nous accompagne, dans une deuxième saison très personnelle, à la rencontre du Japon de son enfance, avec ses mythes, ses rites et ses cultures. Dans ce documentaire audio de 10 épisodes, enrichi en son binaural, nous explorons les mythes et spiritualités japonais aux côtés d’Amélie Nothomb. Nous découvrons, dans ses yeux, un pays vecteur de réalisations personnelles.

Surviving the Dragon is the remarkable life story of Arjia Rinpoche, who was ordained as a reincarnate lama at the age of two and fled Tibet 46 years later. In his gripping memoir, Rinpoche relates the story of having been abandoned in his monastery as a young boy after witnessing the torture and arrest of his monastery family. In the years to come, Rinpoche survived under harsh Chinese rule, as he was forced into hard labor and endured continual public humiliation as part of Mao’s Communist "reeducation".