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obutsudan

obutsudan

has 21 followers and is following 22 people

A quarter century strolling the eightfold path, starting in the Mid-Atlantic Piedmont forest, then on to Kampuchea Krom, the Mahamuni Buddha, Wat Po, Zojoji, Borobudur, Amarbayasgalant, Kuan Yin Miu, and other practices and places across Asia. These days, I traipse up and down the Danube River valley, my children and my spouse laughing with me... more »
  • Not far from Aggsbach, European Union
  • member since July 10, 2007

Reviews

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Displaying 1-10 of 12 reviews
  • Japanese Mandalas: Representations of Sacred Geography
    • Rated 5 stars

    Beautifully done, thoroughly researched, and well written, this book would be a revelation to many who think only of Tibet when they think of mandala.

    obutsudan wrote this review Friday, July 13, 2007. ( reply | permalink )
  • Jodo Shinshu: Shin Buddhism in Medieval Japan (Institute of Buddhist Studies)
    • Rated 4 stars

    An very good overview of the development of Jodo Shinshu in Japan. Of it's few shortcomings, the author himself mentions them in the introduction. Dobbins covers a lot of history in this relatively short text, so don't expect thorough details of each period in Jodo Shinshu's growth. Though academic in content, it is not a difficult read. Recommended.

    obutsudan wrote this review Friday, July 13, 2007. ( reply | permalink )
  • The Encyclopedia of Tibetan Symbols and Motifs
    • Rated 3 stars

    A great deal of information, much of it uncited, and wonderful line drawings, but no index or finding aids. Maybe a resource for artists and designers browsing for ideas, but not very satisfying as a reference for art history.

    obutsudan wrote this review Thursday, July 12, 2007. ( reply | permalink )
  • The Snow Leopard
    • Rated 5 stars

    Poignant and grand, it is beyond me why Matthiessen has not yet been awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. He is a grand American, the kind of human being whose achievements one wishes Americans would aspire to these days. And behind his concern for the world is the dharma.

    obutsudan wrote this review Wednesday, July 11, 2007. ( reply | permalink )
  • The Dharma Bums
    • Rated 0 stars

    You know, I never finished this book, but as far as I got into his tale, Kerouac inspired me to pick up the poems of Gary Snyder (Turtle Island) and Edward Conze's translations of Buddhist texts. More importantly, I started my lifelong relationship with mountains, spending as much time as I could in the ancient and rolling Appalachians. Somewhere on the Fall Line, on a granite cliff along a river, I carved an image of the Buddha in a small niche. So, I guess, this book changed my life in oh-so subtle ways that should have awakened me then-and-there. I guess I owe it to myself to finish it up now that more than a quarter-century has passed. I still don't know how it all ends.

    obutsudan wrote this review Thursday, July 12, 2007. ( reply | permalink )
    • Rated 5 stars

    A complete English translation of the works of Shinran, with glossaries and commentary. If you are taking the path of Pure Land thought, please seek it out. Find it in a library near you by going to http://worldcat.org/oclc/39038401.

    obutsudan wrote this review Wednesday, July 11, 2007. ( reply | permalink )
  • The Dhammapada: The Sayings of the Buddha (Oxford World's Classics)
    • Rated 5 stars

    With Pali text, English translation, and glosses, this is my preferred edition to study this poetic diamond.

    obutsudan wrote this review Wednesday, July 11, 2007. ( reply | permalink )
  • In the Buddha's Words
    • Rated 5 stars

    A gift - selections from the Pali Canon that bestow a sense of how the practice of dharma came to be. I cannot recommend this book highly enough, coming as it does from the first written sources at the beginning of the global sangha. If you are new to the dharma but seriously want to embark on a path of study, I would recommend this book as one of the first things you read after absorbing more general introductions to Buddhism.

    obutsudan wrote this review Friday, July 13, 2007. ( reply | permalink )
  • A Guide to the Gardens of Kyoto

    A Guide to the Gardens of Kyoto

    by Marc Treib, Ron Herman
    • Rated 5 stars

    If you plan to travel to Kyoto, at any season, please take this guide with you. Concise and informative, it will help you make some small sense of what it is you see in these small landscapes so expansive in their horizons.

    obutsudan wrote this review Wednesday, July 11, 2007. ( reply | permalink )
  • Hojoki
    • Rated 5 stars

    While this translation departs from the original text by presenting the document as poetry instead of its original prose, Chomei's words flow eloquently regardless of line-length. One of the most powerful texts I have read as I have begun to focus more-and-more on Japanese Pure Land teachings.

    obutsudan wrote this review Wednesday, July 11, 2007. ( reply | permalink )
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Displaying 1-10 of 12 reviews