Living with the Devil: A Meditation on Good and EvilWhether we are religious or not, the Devil--evil incarnate--is a concept that can still strike fear in our hearts. What if he does exist? What if he is causing all our problems in his determination to keep us from reaching our full potential? Buddhist philosopher Stephen Batchelor takes the concept of the Devil out of literature and history and brings him to life in his many forms and guises: the flatterer, the playmate, the caring friend, the stranger who offers rest and solace, the person who knows you best and shows you your greatness in the world. And, most of all, as the great obstructer that blocks all paths to goodness and true humility. For the first time, Batchelor fuses Western literature--Milton, Keats, Baudelaire--with Buddhism and the Judeo-Christian traditions in a poetic exploration of the struggle with the concept and reality of evil.--From publisher description. |
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Page 126
... person's life . ” Like other Zen teachers of his time , Te - shan sought to shock his audience into seeing that Buddha was not a remote histor- ical figure to be venerated as a saint , but a vital presence in the pulsing heart of each ...
... person's life . ” Like other Zen teachers of his time , Te - shan sought to shock his audience into seeing that Buddha was not a remote histor- ical figure to be venerated as a saint , but a vital presence in the pulsing heart of each ...
Page 175
... person's path is if that path inflicts , or threatens to inflict , harm on that person as well as others . While Buddha re- garded the freedom of nirvana as the " ground " and " goal " of life , the experience of that freedom heightened ...
... person's path is if that path inflicts , or threatens to inflict , harm on that person as well as others . While Buddha re- garded the freedom of nirvana as the " ground " and " goal " of life , the experience of that freedom heightened ...
Page 176
A Meditation on Good and Evil Stephen Batchelor. Each person is free to lead whatever life he chooses provided it does not violate the freedom of others to do likewise . Un- less a person's actions harm others , no one has the right to ...
A Meditation on Good and Evil Stephen Batchelor. Each person is free to lead whatever life he chooses provided it does not violate the freedom of others to do likewise . Un- less a person's actions harm others , no one has the right to ...
Contents
Parallel Mythologies | 3 |
This Need Not Have Happened I 2 | 12 |
MaraThe Killer | 17 |
Copyright | |
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Agnes Ajatasattu anguish appears astonishment awareness Batchelor Baudelaire become Bhikkhu Bhikkhu Bodhi Bimbisara Bodhi body Brahma brahmin brain breath Buddha buddhanature Buddhist called Chuang-tzu compulsive consciousness contingent craving created creature culture of awakening death demonic describes Devadatta devil devil's circle dharma diabolic discourses earth emptiness enclose evil existence existential experience eyes fear feel fixation followed freedom Gampopa Gotama grip Huai-jang Hui-neng human hurt Ibid incarnation insight Kamadeva king Kosala Kosalan Lin-chi live London Magadha Mara Mara's meditation metaphor mind monk Nagarjuna Nanamoli nature ness nirvana one's oneself ourselves Pali Pali Canon Pascal Pasenadi path Penguin person question Rajagaha realize religion root samsara Samyutta Nikaya Sanskrit Satan says seems selfless sense Shantideva someone space Stephen Batchelor struggle sublime Sutra Te-shan texts things thoughts Tibetan tion traditions Translated truth understand unfolding University Press verse York