This is a collection of Nichiren's writings and excerpts dealing with meanings and applications of the title of the Lotus Sutra. From Indian Sanskrit to Chinese and Japanese translations and phonetics to the core of all the Buddha's teachings, the title of the Lotus as well as the heading of every on of the 28 chapters of the Sutra, NaMuMyoHoRenGeKyo, also known as the O'Daimoku or the five or seven characters.

These are questions to which oriental thinkers have given a wide range of philosophical answers that are intellectually and imaginatively stimulating. Thirty-Five Oriental Philosophers is a succinctly informative introduction to the thought of thirty-five important figures in the Chinese, Indian, Arab, Japanese and Tibetan philosophical traditions. Thinkers covered include founders such as Zoroaster, Confucius, Buddha and Muhammed, as well as influential modern figures such as Gandhi, Mao Tse-Tung, Suzuki and Nishida. The book is divided into sections, in which an introduction to the tradition it covers precedes the essays on its individual philosophers. Notes, further reading lists, and cross-references provide the student with a clear route to further study. There is a glossary of key terms at the end of the book.

Close analysis of the work of fifty major thinkers in the field of Eastern philosophy make this an excellent introduction to a fascinating area of study. The authors have drawn together thinkers from all the major Eastern philosophical traditions from the earliest times to the present day. The philosophers covered range from founder figures such as Zoroaster and Confucius to modern thinkers such as Fung Youlan and the present Dalai Lama. Introductions to major traditions and a glossary of key philosophical terms make this a comprehensive and accessible reference resource.

The essays in this collection are an interdisciplinary examination of various aspects of Buddhism during the Kamakura era, including religious practice, literature, and institutional history. They work toward a synchronic historiography and thus provide a broader understanding and appreciation of the complexity and richness of Buddhism during the Kamakura era and of Japanese Buddhism as a whole. Contributors: Richard K. Payne, James C. Dobbins, George S. Tanabe, Mark T. Unno, Jacqueline I. Stone, Robert E. Morrell, James H. Foard

Anyone reading English translations of Buddhist texts will encounter a host of names, terms, and phrases whose meanings are not clear even though they appear in English. Buddhism is famous for its specialized terminology and translation alone may not communicate its full meaning. East Asian Buddhist diction is layered with several languages -Pali, Sanskrit, Chinese, and Japanese -and the only way to make one's way through this linguistic maze without getting lost is with the aid of a good dictionary. The Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism, a revised and expanded version of A Dictionary of Buddhist Terms and Concepts (1983), is a welcome addition that serves this purpose. Written clearly for the general reader, the Dictionary contains over 2,700 entries. While it is designed primarily for use with the Soka Gakkai's translations of Nichiren's works, the Dictionary contains a wealth of terms found in all other traditions of Buddhism. Definitions are given for technical terms, historical figures, doctrinal texts, institutions, and place names. The entries provide complete cross-references so that readers may know and further pursue meanings of term equivalents as rendered in other ways or languages. Ten appendixes provide maps and world lists that enable the reader to find terms in English, Pali, Sanskrit, Chinese, or Japanese. Like all Buddhist masters, Nichiren presented his particular message in the wider context of other Buddhist teachings and practices. To know the particular, one must also understand the general context, and the Dictionary, in addressing both levels, provides essential knowledge not only for students of Nichiren Buddhism but for anyone reading Buddhist texts.

Religions of the United States in Practice is a rich anthology of primary sources with accompanying essays that examines religious behavior in America. From praying in an early American synagogue to performing Mormon healing rituals to debating cremation, Volume 2 explores faith through action in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The documents and essays consider the religious practices of average people--praying, singing, healing, teaching, imagining, and persuading. Some documents are formal liturgies while other texts describe more spontaneous religious actions. Because religious practices also take place in the imagination, dreams, visions, and fictional accounts are also included. Accompanying each primary document is an essay that sets the religious practice in its historical and theological context--making this volume ideal for classroom use and accessible to any reader. The introductory essays explain the various meanings of religious practices as lived out in churches and synagogues, in parlors and fields, beside rivers, on lecture platforms, and in the streets. Religions of the United States in Practice offers a sampling of religious perspectives in order to approximate the living texture of popular religious thought and practice in the United States. The history of religion in America is more than the story of institutions and famous people. This anthology presents a more nuanced story composed of the everyday actions and thoughts of lay men and women.

An essential companion to a timeless spiritual classic The Lotus Sūtra is among the most venerated scriptures of Buddhism. Composed in India some two millennia ago, it asserts the potential for all beings to attain supreme enlightenment. Donald Lopez and Jacqueline Stone provide an essential reading companion to this inspiring yet enigmatic masterpiece, explaining how it was understood by its compilers in India and, centuries later in medieval Japan, by one of its most influential proponents. In this illuminating chapter-by-chapter guide, Lopez and Stone show how the sūtra's anonymous authors skillfully reframed the mainstream Buddhist tradition in light of a new vision of the path and the person of the Buddha himself, and examine how the sūtra's metaphors, parables, and other literary devices worked to legitimate that vision. They go on to explore how the Lotus was interpreted by the Japanese Buddhist master Nichiren (1222–1282), whose inspired reading of the book helped to redefine modern Buddhism. In doing so, Lopez and Stone demonstrate how readers of sacred works continually reinterpret them in light of their own unique circumstances. An invaluable guide to an incomparable spiritual classic, this book unlocks the teachings of the Lotus for modern readers while providing insights into the central importance of commentary as the vehicle by which ancient writings are given contemporary meaning.