Readings in Eastern Religions - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0889209553 ISBN 13: 9780889209558

Publisher: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 1998

Synopsis

Developed principally for use in introductory courses in the study of religious traditions in the East, this anthology offers a selection of readings from primary texts of India, China and Japan. The selections are arranged both chronologically and thematically within religious traditions and include readings from Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism (including Tibetan Buddhism), Sikhism, Early Chinese thought, Confuciansiim, Taoism, Mao Tse Tung, Shintoism, and Japan's new religions (Tenrikyo and Sokka Gakkai). Throughout the anthology, an effort has been made to present more than the usual short excerpts. As much as possible larger excerpts have been included to give students a better sense of significant developments within traditions. As well, doctrinal elements have been combined with story to make these traditions more than museum pieces for students.

About this title

Review:

I liked Readings in Eastern Religions and would recommend it for uses in classes.... Readings in Eastern Religions is largely successful in what it sets out to do. The longer readings give a more vivid sense of the various scriptures. The selections from the Bhagavad Gita and the Laws of Manu, for example, are strikingly elegant. Similarly, the greater length helps convey the depth of the scriptures. The readings from Xunxi, the proponent of realistic Confucianism, give a much stronger flavour of his logical style and argument than those I have read elsewhere. The same is true for the more narrative style of the Taoist, Zhuangzi. At the same time, the readings convey important aspects of the various traditions. The extracts from the Vedas and the Laws of Manu gave me a much better appreciation of Vedic orthodoxy.... In addition to this, Readings in Eastern Religions give a good variety of readings. The inclusion of both women's voices and modern voices gives a fuller, richer sense of the different traditions.''--James Quinn "Journal of Religion and Culture, Vol. 20, 2008 "

About the Author:

Harold Coward is a professor of history and director of the Centre for Studies in Religion and Society at the University of Victoria. Eva Neumair-Dargyay is Professor and Acting Chair of Comparative Studies in Literature, Film and Religion at the University of Alberta. She has published four single-authored books and one co-authored one on various subjects of Tibetan religion and culture. Ronald Neufeldt is a professor of Eastern religions at the University of Calgary, Alberta.

About this edition

• Publisher: Wilfrid Laurier University Press
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0889209553
• ISBN 13: 9780889209558
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 376
• Editor: Coward Harold, Neumaier-Dargyay Eva K., Neufeldt Ronald