bookshelves: to-read
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bookshelves: to-read
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bookshelves: to-read
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"So few Westerners had ever stepped foot in Tibet that locals in the countryside were mesmerized by the zipper on my backpack..."
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bookshelves: to-read
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bookshelves: abandoned, buddhism
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bookshelves: abandoned, buddhism
Picture this: I'm in Rajgir. At Vulture's Peak, exactly, looking at the rusted, corroding signs pointing out significant places. One says something about the possible ruins of the monastery seen by seventh-century Chinese pilgrim Huien Tsang.
Huien Tsang? Isn't that-- Xuanzang?? I took a picture of it, thinking, My Buddhism professor is going to think this is so cool if it is. Meanwhile, I'm racking my brain trying to decide if it's the same pilgrim or not because we didn't finish reading the book on Xuanzang as it was mostly used in class to illustrate the significance of visions and dreams within Buddhism, as well as provide some clues as to how Buddhism crossed borders between Asian countries like China and India.
I felt bad that I couldn't give any more information about this supposed monastery to my friends, who, despite being Buddhists (one in the Tibetan tradition [Indian:], one a Japanese Zen priest, and the other a non-denominational Buddhist [German:], I think) didn't know anything about Xuanzang (and I can't blame them, Buddhist history is incredibly vast).
I'll definitely be finishing this book before my next pilgrimage, me thinks! ]]>
bookshelves: abandoned, buddhism, feminism
"A prevailing theme that runs throughout the book is the need to look beyond idealized images of Buddhism found in doctrine to discover the religion as it was lived and practiced."
I'm marking this book as "abandoned" because those my copy is all marked up, there are a few chapters where I'm unclear if the marking is mine or someone else's. (I seem to do a mix of highlighting and underlining in pen, and there are a few chapters with pencil underlining.)
Also, if I can't remember whether I read the book all the way through, I should probably count that as "abandoned" anyways, so it'll force me to pick it up again.
Eshinni was a nun and the wife of Shinran, the founder of Pure Land Buddhism, and this book focuses on her letters-- in which she not only elevates her husband to bodhisattva level but also shows how she lived her daily life, which is somewhat at odds with some scholarly insights into Pure Land Buddhism, particularly in the idea that women are unable to be reborn into the Pure Land. (She says little about this in any of her letters, and instead, believes that she will die and go directly into the Pure Land as a woman.) ]]>
bookshelves: abandoned
I started reading this outside of Babu Ram's tea stall. I had bought it because I kept seeing it in the bookshop, and was in love with the cover, which features a red monkey and an Underwood typewriter. This massive first novel, at 669 pages, is what many have considered "epic", and is probably why I abandoned this at page 45. That and Didi Ram, the wife of the tea stall owner, came over and sat beside me while I was having my tea and kachori and this book really needs to be read not under the interested eyes of others, and with a pen and notebook in hand, in order to keep notes. Maybe this is modern India's version of Moby Dick?
I WILL read this someday. ]]>
bookshelves: to-read
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