• Complain

Ourvan - The star spangled Buddhist: Zen, Tibetan, and Soka Gakkai Buddhism and the quest for enlightenment in America

Here you can read online Ourvan - The star spangled Buddhist: Zen, Tibetan, and Soka Gakkai Buddhism and the quest for enlightenment in America full text of the book (entire story) in english for free. Download pdf and epub, get meaning, cover and reviews about this ebook. City: United States, year: 2016;2012, publisher: Skyhorse Publishing, genre: Religion. Description of the work, (preface) as well as reviews are available. Best literature library LitArk.com created for fans of good reading and offers a wide selection of genres:

Romance novel Science fiction Adventure Detective Science History Home and family Prose Art Politics Computer Non-fiction Religion Business Children Humor

Choose a favorite category and find really read worthwhile books. Enjoy immersion in the world of imagination, feel the emotions of the characters or learn something new for yourself, make an fascinating discovery.

Ourvan The star spangled Buddhist: Zen, Tibetan, and Soka Gakkai Buddhism and the quest for enlightenment in America
  • Book:
    The star spangled Buddhist: Zen, Tibetan, and Soka Gakkai Buddhism and the quest for enlightenment in America
  • Author:
  • Publisher:
    Skyhorse Publishing
  • Genre:
  • Year:
    2016;2012
  • City:
    United States
  • Rating:
    5 / 5
  • Favourites:
    Add to favourites
  • Your mark:
    • 100
    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5

The star spangled Buddhist: Zen, Tibetan, and Soka Gakkai Buddhism and the quest for enlightenment in America: summary, description and annotation

We offer to read an annotation, description, summary or preface (depends on what the author of the book "The star spangled Buddhist: Zen, Tibetan, and Soka Gakkai Buddhism and the quest for enlightenment in America" wrote himself). If you haven't found the necessary information about the book — write in the comments, we will try to find it.

Approximately four million Americans claim to be Buddhist. Moreover, hundreds of thousands of Americans of various faiths read about Buddhism, are interested in its philosophical tenets, or fashionably view themselves as Buddhists. Theyre part of whats been described as the fastest-growing religious movement in America: a large group of people dissatisfied with traditional religious offerings and thirsty for an approach to spirituality grounded in logic and consistent with scientific knowledge. The Star Spangled Buddhist is a provocative look at these American Buddhists through their three largest movements in the United States: the Soka Gakkai International, Tibetan/Vajrayana Buddhism, and Zen Buddhism. The practice of each of these American schools, unlike most traditional Asian Buddhist sects, is grounded in the notion that all people are capable of attaining enlightenment in this lifetime. But the differences are also profound: the spectrum of philosophical expression among these American Buddhist schools is as varied as that observed between Reformed, Orthodox, and Hasidic Judaism. The Star Spangled Buddhist isnt written from the perspective of a monk or academic but rather from the view of author Jeff Ourvan, a lifelong-practicing lay Buddhist. As Ourvan explores the American Buddhist movement through its most popular schools, he arrives at a clearer understanding for himself and the reader about what it means to be--and how one might choose to be--a Buddhist in America.--Publishers description.;Introduction: Nirvana unplugged : Buddhism in America today -- Part one. The first jewel : the Buddha. Under the Bodhi Tree : the drama of Shakyamuni Buddha -- Zen and the art of American-style maintenance -- Tibetan Buddhism : a crazy little thing called wisdom -- The lotus position : Nichiren, Daisaku Ikeda, and the Soka Gakkai -- Part two. The second jewel : the Dharma. Flower power : the special transmission of Zen -- Tantric sects : merit, meditation, and mentoring in Tibetan Buddhism -- Repeat after me : nam ... myoho ... renge ... kyo -- Part three. The third jewel : the Sangha. Relatively speaking : logic, ethics, and Zen -- Tibetan checks and balances : lean in the direction of the Dharma -- Like fish in water : the Soka Gakkai and the mentor-disciple spirit -- Conclusion: In the next present moment : the future of Buddhism in America.

Ourvan: author's other books


Who wrote The star spangled Buddhist: Zen, Tibetan, and Soka Gakkai Buddhism and the quest for enlightenment in America? Find out the surname, the name of the author of the book and a list of all author's works by series.

The star spangled Buddhist: Zen, Tibetan, and Soka Gakkai Buddhism and the quest for enlightenment in America — read online for free the complete book (whole text) full work

Below is the text of the book, divided by pages. System saving the place of the last page read, allows you to conveniently read the book "The star spangled Buddhist: Zen, Tibetan, and Soka Gakkai Buddhism and the quest for enlightenment in America" online for free, without having to search again every time where you left off. Put a bookmark, and you can go to the page where you finished reading at any time.

Light

Font size:

Reset

Interval:

Bookmark:

Make
The Star Spangled
BUDDHIST
The Star Spangled
BUDDHIST

Zen, Tibetan, and Soka Gakkai Buddhism and the Quest for Enlightenment in America

JEFF OURVAN

Picture 1

Skyhorse Publishing

Copyright 2013 by Jeff Ourvan

All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018.

Skyhorse Publishing books may be purchased in bulk at special discounts for sales promotion, corporate gifts, fund-raising, or educational purposes. Special editions can also be created to specifications. For details, contact the Special Sales Department, Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018 or info@skyhorsepublishing.com.

Skyhorse and Skyhorse Publishing are registered trademarks of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., a Delaware corporation.

Visit our website at www.skyhorsepublishing.com.

The author gratefully acknowledges permission to reprint the Meal Gatha from the Mountains and Rivers Order, www.mro.org; from the Buddhist Publication Society for use of an excerpt from Last Days of the Buddha: The Maha Parinibbana Sutta, by Sister Vajira and F. Story; and from Brian Daizen Victoria for reprinted excerpts from Zen War Stories, RoutledgeCurzon, 2003.

The author is further grateful for the use of lyrics from Leonard Cohens Anthem, 1992 Stranger Music Inc. All rights administered by Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, 8 Music Square West, Nashville, TN 37203. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Ourvan, Jeff.

The star spangled Buddhist : Zen, Tibetan, and Soka Gakkai Buddhism and the quest for enlightenment in America / Jeff Ourvan.

pages cm

Includes index.

ISBN 978-1-62087-639-8 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. BuddhismUnited States. 2. Buddhism and cultureUnited States. I. Title.

BQ732.O97 2013

294.3920973dc22

2013005416

Printed in China

In memory of Shin Yatomi and to our eternal friendship

The purpose of Buddhism is not to produce dupes who blindly follow their leader. It is to produce people of wisdom who can judge right or wrong on their own in the clear mirror of Buddhism.

Daisaku Ikeda

The essence of warriorship, or the essence of human bravery, is refusing to give up on anyone or anything.

Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche

Enlightenment is crap. Living ethically and morally is what really matters.

Brad Warner

CONTENTS

Nirvana Unplugged:
Buddhism in America Today

THE FIRST JEWEL:
THE BUDDHA

Picture 2

Preface

I
n 1983, I was a nice, Jewish, macrobiotic geologist who somehow was enlisted to play sousaphone in a Buddhist marching band.

I attended college in the late 70s and early 80s, reading the colorful works of Carlos Castaneda and similarly groovy books like The Tao of Physics, which attempted to reconcile theoretical physics and Eastern mysticism, and Seth Speaks, which featured an otherworldly being, channeled through a medium, who explained the mysteries of life and death in a tone reminiscent of my kindly uncle from the Bronx. I was ripe, in those days, for an introduction to new philosophies.

Armed with my geology degree, I worked for a year at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and then left, in a first stab at reinvention, to seek a more meaningful existence in Manhattanto do something that might concern people more than rocks. But I didnt know what that was just yet, so I bided my time editing physics journals transliterated from Russian in an office building smack in the middle of what was then a rundown Soho neighborhood.

I would have lunch alone, every day, at a nearby restaurant called Souen. The menu was Spartan: a lot of seaweed, tofu, and grains. One July day, a very bright waitress whom I had never seen before was my server. I was shy back then, especially around pretty girls, so Im sure I wouldnt have shared anything with her about myself other than what I wanted to eat; the lunch itself was bland and routine.

I ate, rose to pay, and weaved my way between the tables to the cash register, but no one was there to help me. My boss at the time was a stickler for punctuality, so I was nervous about being late. I looked around, but my waitress was busy, bustling in and out of the kitchen and serving other wan vegans like me. I stood there and gazed out a large window. With every changing light, the traffic on Sixth Avenue passed by. I checked my watchI would be late. I leafed through the magazines and flyers on the cash registers counter, but nothing was of interest to read. Then I boosted my feet up off of the floor and myself onto the counter to peer around the other side of the register, where I saw a small alcove with an index card taped to its interior. The card read: A blue fly, if it clings to the tail of a thoroughbred horse, can travel ten thousand miles, and the green ivy that twines around the tall pine can grow to a thousand feet. I jumped back down, and my waitress came to take my check.

Who said that? I asked.

What?

Unintentionally, I found myself trapped in her large, brown eyes. The blue fly thing.

Nichiren! Nichiren Daishonin!

I had heard of Kant and even read a bit of Marx and Engels, but I didnt know what she was talking about. Nietzsche?

No. This is Buddhism. She invited me to a meeting the next evening.

I didnt know what to think, or whether it would even be safe to attend a small meeting of an unknown religion at some strange persons East Village apartment. So I asked around until I found someone in my weekly Tai Chi class who knew what it was all about. Apparently, so I was told, everyone lies down in the dark, holds hands, and chants. And for some reason, I found that to be appealing.

I showed up the next evening at a walk-up leading to one of those old New York so-called railroad apartments in which you enter through a narrow vestibule, and proceed through a tiny kitchen, a small bedroom, and into a slightly larger main room. A group of people were on their knees on the floor there, with their backs to me, facing a closed, wooden box on the wall. I couldnt see anyones face but heard an unusual, incessant sound:

Nnnnnrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

I thought there was an audiotape in the box on the wall from which this strange tonal vibration emanated. It wasnt until I sat on the rug, having been welcomed by my waitress, Grete, that I realized this was the collective noise of people chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. It was the first time I had ever heard such a sound.

The meeting had nothing to do with holding hands in the dark. Rather, the group recited a portion of the Lotus Sutra and chanted to a paper scroll with Chinese markings inside of the now-opened box.

The people were unusual, too. As a flannel-shirted scientist, I suppose I led somewhat of a narrow life up to that point: The most distinguishing feature among most of my white, tectonically inclined male friends was whether or not one had grown a beard. I was raised in the northeast Bronx, in a large, state-subsidized housing development called Co-op City, so I wasnt utterly sheltered. But in this roomful of about twenty Buddhists I saw what was for me an infrequent gathering: a gay couple, several African Americans, a Puerto Rican group leader and half a dozen incredibly beautiful women.

Next page
Light

Font size:

Reset

Interval:

Bookmark:

Make

Similar books «The star spangled Buddhist: Zen, Tibetan, and Soka Gakkai Buddhism and the quest for enlightenment in America»

Look at similar books to The star spangled Buddhist: Zen, Tibetan, and Soka Gakkai Buddhism and the quest for enlightenment in America. We have selected literature similar in name and meaning in the hope of providing readers with more options to find new, interesting, not yet read works.


Reviews about «The star spangled Buddhist: Zen, Tibetan, and Soka Gakkai Buddhism and the quest for enlightenment in America»

Discussion, reviews of the book The star spangled Buddhist: Zen, Tibetan, and Soka Gakkai Buddhism and the quest for enlightenment in America and just readers' own opinions. Leave your comments, write what you think about the work, its meaning or the main characters. Specify what exactly you liked and what you didn't like, and why you think so.