Asian Religions A Cultural Perspective

includes index and biblioraphy

1. Introductory Material ....1 Religion........3 Language.....11 2. The confucian Tradition ...19 Defining religion : The confucian Response ..21 The religious dimensions of Confucianism ..........28 The self as a Center of Relationships....36 Learning to be human ........44 The lasting influence of Confucianism in Modern east Asia ......51 The taoist Tradition ......59 What is taoism .61 Philosophical Taoism .................68 Temporal Dimensions of Yin-Yang Cosmology ....76 Spatital Dimensions of Yin - Yang Cosmology .......82 Personal Dimensions of yin-Yang Cosmology .............90 Taoism as a Global Religious Phenomenon..96 4. The hindu Tradition ......103 What is Hinduism?.........105 Karma-marga.............111 Jnana-Marga ........117 BHakti-Marga ..........123 Hinduism in the Modern world ...........133 The Theravada Buddhist Tradition .......139 Buddhism and the bddha ....141 Suffering and its cause ........149 The fruits of Meditation ...........164 Monastic Practice .............171 The Mahayana Buddhist Tradition ....179 Faith ....181 Principles of Zen buddhism ....189 Buddhism as a Global Religion ......199 Japanese Religions ......207 Japanese religion and culture ......209 Shrine shinto : Dimensions of Sacred Time and Space in Japan ...218 Dimensions of Religion in Modern Japan....227 Conclusions.............237