Jon’s days are numbered. The second Siege event is just a few days away. Will he survive the incoming pressure? Or succumb to death? He only wanted to live peacefully while farming to his heart’s content. But with each step, he faced new danger. Danger that can threaten his freedom from Baltazar’s prison. How many days can he survive? If you like Alchemy in Litrpg, then this book is for you.

Born into a dirt poor mining family, Karl only had one chance to get ahead in life, the annual elite recruitment day. On their final day of middle school, every student in the Golden Dragon Nation was given an experimental injection to awaken their affinity with magic. Those few who succeeded would become the Elite, the leaders and idols of the nation, blessed with incredible magical powers and respected by all. Those who did not would return to their normal lives of hard work and low wages, just doing the best they could. But with the nation surrounded by enemies, both humans and monsters, how long would these peaceful days of magical idols last? Follow the story of Karl as he awakens a unique power and strives to become the world's first Legendary Beast Master.

A fresh translation and commentary on a classic collection of 100 koans from thirteenth-century China. The Record of Empty Hall was written by Xutang Zhiyu (1185-1269), an important figure in Chinese Linji Chan (Japanese Rinzai Zen) Buddhism and in its transmission to Japan. Although previously little-known in the West, Xutang's work is on par with the other great koan collections of the era, such as The Blue Cliff Record and Book of Serenity. Translated by Zen teacher Dosho Port from the original Chinese, The Record of Empty Hall opens new paths into the earthiness, humor, mystery, and multiplicity of meaning that are at the heart of koan inquiry. Inspired by the pithy, frank tone of Xutang's originals, Port also offers his own commentaries on the koans, helping readers to see the modern and relatable applications of these thirteenth-century encounter stories. Readers familiar with koans will recognize key figures, such as Bodhidharma, Nanquan, and Zhaozhou and will also be introduced to teaching icons not found in other koan collections. Through his commentaries, as well as a glossary of major figures and an appendix detailing the cases, Port not only opens up these remarkable koans but also illuminates their place in ancient Chinese, Japanese, and contemporary Zen practice.

This collection reflects the confluence of two contemporary developments: the Buddhist-Christian dialogue and the deconstruction theory of Jacques Derrida. The five essays both explore and demonstrate the relationship between postmodernism and Buddhist-Christian thought. The liberating and healing potential of de-essentialized concepts and images, language, bodies and symbols are revealed throughout. Included are essays by Roger Corless, David Loy, Philippa Berry, Morny Joy, and Robert Magliola.

Critical Praise for Hyatt Carter's previous book Thinking Is the Best Way to Travel Hyatt Carter has now shared stations along the way of his intellectual experiences in his Thinking is the Best Way to Travel: Essays along the Journey. Carter is that rare creature, an independent polymath, the scarcity of which in the epoch of specialization has severely scarred contemporary life. There are dabblers aplenty, but the polymath in full flow is an exciting phenomenon. David Spooner, author of The Metaphysics of Insects and Other Essays Thinking Is the Best Way to Travel was not just any journey, it was the best kind of vacation, a vacation from myself and the usual ways I see and know myself and the world around me. I am intrigued by life-development transitions and how they facilitate new structures of reasoning and the freedom to find new mutualities of self-other knowing. This book is a wonderful way of making that journey without purposefully intending to do any of this. Dr. William Kent Larkin, author of Growing The Positive Mind and Director of The Applied Neuroscience Institute The best thing about the book is that it is enjoyable to read. It proceeds at a measured pace, without tight, convoluted thinking that one has to fight his way through. I like the cadence; it has a nice pace and rhythm. This is an interesting book that gives one the sense of a life spent in thoughtful reading and reflection. W. K. Maples, mathematician, Marshall Space Flight Center Hyatt Carter has a skillful way of making philosophical concepts easy to comprehend. I find myself taking notes while reading, looking up some of cited authors on the Internet, and ordering their books. Ramón Barayón, author of A Planetary Sojourn and A Death in Zamora

A miserable day at work? Check. An unusual letter in the mail? Check. Waking up in a strange world surrounded by dead bodies? Check. And so, The Game begins… With nothing to his name but his loyal companion and a gnawing hunger, Boot agrees to a job that will shape the lives of an entire town—for better or worse. Flame Druid is a gripping and humorous LitRPG odyssey of self-discovery and destiny set in a supernatural world where giants walk the earth, outlaws rule the wilds, and North American folklore comes to life. Will Boot rise to the challenge and uncover his true purpose, or will he be consumed by the very forces that seek to control him? The wild, weird west awaits!

The induction of Dо̄gen into the modern academic world, or per­haps more accurately, the academic world's first real engagement with Dо̄gen came about 1924 when Watsuji Tetsurо̄ (1889–1960) published a provocative essay entitled "Shaman Dо̄gen." It was this essay that to many of Watsuji's contemporaries seemed to rescue Dо̄gen from what they considered to be his entrapment for nearly seven centuries in the sectarian embrace of the Sо̄tо̄ school. Watsuji insisted that Dо̄gen no longer should be thought of as belonging exclusively to the monastic community. Claiming, instead, that Dо̄gen "belongs to mankind," Watsuji with this declaration initiated the non-sectarian study of this thirteenth-century figure and in effect commenced what are called Dо̄gen Studies [Dagen kenkyii] in modern times. As one way of exploring what it might possibly mean to say that Dо̄gen "belongs to mankind," the Kuroda Institute held a conference on Dо̄gen at Tassajara Springs, California from October 8 to 10, 1981. The essays of this volume are a part of its result.