The Complete Idiot's Guide to Eastern Philosophy: Valuable Tips for Putting Philosophical Theory into Practice

by Jay Stevenson

Overview

You’re no idiot, of course. You know Eastern philosophy encompasses many countries and concepts, but when it comes to breaking down the basics—to discuss with others or for your own enlightenment—you can’t tell Confucius from Krishna.

Don’t nix nirvana just yet! The Complete Idiot’s Guide® to Eastern Philosophy is an extensive, reader-friendly guide that maps out the terrain along the various paths of knowledge. In this Complete Idiot’s Guide®, you get:

   • A wealth of information about the history and core beliefs of each philosophical system.
   • Outlines and in-depth explorations of each school of thought.
   • Reading and study guides to enhance your understanding.
   • The “big picture” of Eastern philosophy and how its components relate to Western ideas.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781101158364
Publisher:	DK
Publication date:	01/09/2000
Series:	COMPLETE IDIOT'S GUIDE Series
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	432
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

JAY STEVENSON, Ph.D., teaches writing, English literature, and cultural studies at Rutgers University and is the author of five Complete Idiot’s Guides®. He has written for Studies in English Literature 1500–1900 and for the Grinnell Review.

Table of Contents

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Part 1	Orient-ation	1
1	Four Ways to Wisdom	3
	The Big Four	4
	Shifting Scenes	4
	In This Corner	5
	Into India	6
	Every Which Way but Loose	7
	Finding the Center	8
	Maya Culpa	8
	School Work	9
	Escape from India	10
	Friends in High Places	11
	Different Spins	11
	Chinese Minds	12
	Finding the Way	13
	Confucius Rules	14
2	Turning East	17
	The Whole Thing	18
	All for One	19
	Four Wholes	20
	Who Do You Think You Are?	22
	Where Am I?	22
	Lost in Thought	22
	Shut My Mouth	24
	Silence Is Golden	24
	Inner Quiet	24
	So to Speak	25
	Mind and Spirit	25
	Spirit and Mind	27
3	East Meets West	29
	Worlds Apart	30
	Proof of the Pudding	30
	Getting Somewhere	31
	I'll Buy That	32
	Blinded with Science	33
	India-pendence	33
	Breaking the Mold	34
	Grinding Gears	34
	A Little Romance	34
	Rat Race	35
	Feeling Your Age	36
	New Heights	36
	Covering the Spread	37
	Forever Jung	37
	Setting Trends	38
Part 2	Do You Hindu?	41
4	Beyond the Gods	43
	Blast from the Past	44
	High Priests	45
	Old-Time Religions	46
	Higher Ground	47
	The Whole Truth	47
	Absolute Awareness	48
	Getting Over It	49
	Bliss and Bondage	49
	Making Progress	50
	Play It Again, Samsara	51
	Wheel of Fortune	51
	The Bad with the Good	52
5	Life Goes On	55
	Epic Struggle	56
	Avatar in Action	56
	Keep on Truckin'	57
	Three Yogas	58
	Bhakti Basics	58
	All Roads Lead to Enlightenment	59
	Manu's Manual	59
	Laying Down the Law	60
	What It's All About	60
	Setting the Stages	61
	Pay-Back Time	61
	Class Action	63
6	Going to Extremes	65
	School Work	66
	Branching Out	66
	Off-Beat Beliefs	67
	What You See Is What You Get	67
	Accidents Happen	68
	Spiritual Baggage	68
	Censored System	69
	Jaina's Addiction	70
	Starved for Knowledge	70
	Let It Be	71
	Jaina's Logic	72
	Any Way You Cut It	72
	Categorically Speaking	73
	Mental Breakdowns	74
7	Building on Tradition	77
	School Work	78
	Mix and Match	78
	Six Pack	79
	Testing, Testing	81
	Whattaya Know?	81
	Up and Atom	82
	Vedas Revisited	83
	Best Behavior	83
	Sacred Sound	84
	Back to Brahman	85
	Only One	85
	Only One, Sort Of	86
	Two for One	87
8	Yogi Bearings	89
	Theory and Practice	90
	Knowing the Difference	90
	Lopsided Pair	91
	Theory of Evolution	92
	Loose Threads	92
	Missing Links	93
	Pretzel Logic	94
	Into Position	94
	Siddhi Slickers	96
	A Classic Twist	96
	Out on the Limbs	96
	Hold That Pose	97
	Yoga Party	97
9	Culture Clash	101
	Islam in India	102
	Sufi's Choice	102
	Sikh and Ye Shall Find	103
	Spiritual Rebirth	103
	Seeing to Reason	104
	Old-Time Answers	105
	Social Service	105
	Super Yogi	106
	Gandhi but Not Forgotten	107
	Getting Organized	107
	Nothing but the Truth	108
	Philosopher for President	109
	Brahman's Intuition	109
	We're All in This Together	110
10	Go West, Young Brahmin	111
	Meeting of the Minds	112
	Gurus Go Greek	113
	Mixed Blessings	114
	Romantic Notions	114
	Where There's a Will, There's a Veda	115
	Yankee Sages	115
	American Know-How	116
	Living Like a Yogi	116
	Dark Secrets	116
	Feeling the Spirit	117
	Which Way Is Up?	117
	World Spirit	118
	Merry Krishnas	119
	Chants Meetings	119
	Cult Following	120
	Sitting and Thinking	121
	Change My World	121
	Meditate on This	122
Part 3	Shake Your Buddha	125
11	News from Nirvana	127
	The Birth of a Legend	128
	From Prince to Pauper	128
	Wake-Up Call	129
	Have Wisdom, Will Travel	130
	Deep Dukkha	131
	Eight Is Enough	132
	Stop Asking Silly Questions!	133
	It All Depends	134
	Three Marks Against You	135
	Filling in the Middle	135
12	Flesh on the Bones	139
	All Together Now	140
	Baskets of Buddhism	140
	Enlightened Empire	140
	Parallel Paths	141
	Going Solo	141
	Dharma If You Do, Dharma If You Don't	142
	Divine Guides	143
	Such a Suchness	144
	Filling in the Middle	145
	The Logic of Nonlogic	145
	Head Room	146
	Not Fade Away	147
13	The Diamond Path	151
	Up the Mountain	152
	Tantra-lized	152
	Behind Closed Doors	153
	Cosmic Flow	154
	Hand and Mouth	155
	Wheels Inside of Wheels	155
	Spiritual Snake-Charming	156
	Dying for Enlightenment	157
	Out of Body Experience	158
	Getting Directions	158
	Hello, Dalai	159
14	Other Worlds	161
	A New Buddha on the Block	162
	The Lotus Serves Notice	163
	All for One and One for All	164
	The Big Three	165
	The Big Ten	166
	Worlds Upon Worlds	166
	Land Sakes	167
	Help from Above	168
	Feeling Your Age	169
	Into Shinto	170
15	Now and Zen	173
	Sitting Pretty	174
	Letting Go	174
	Zig-Zag Zen	174
	Way Back Zen	175
	Say It with Flowers	176
	Up Against the Wall	176
	The Long and Short of It	177
	Soto Voce	178
	Koan Heads	178
	Mondo Zen	180
	Missing the Pointer, Getting the Point	180
	Who, Me?	181
	Ordinary Miracles	181
	Zen-Fu	182
Part 4	"Way" Cool	185
16	Old Masters	187
	Living in the Real World	188
	Ideas with a Difference	188
	Same Difference	189
	Getting Wise to the Times	189
	Troubled Waters	190
	Dynasty: The Series	191
	Boys Named Tzu	192
	Advisors for Hire	192
	Ancient Curriculum	193
	Two Left Standing	194
	Sorting the Systems	195
	Hide or Seek	196
	Enter the Dragon	197
	Meeting of the Ways	197
17	Tao or Never	199
	Tapping the Source	200
	A Way Out	200
	Tao in Print	201
	A Fork in the Way	202
	Sages Versus Priests	202
	Sage List	203
	Book of Mysteries	204
	Naming the Unnamable	204
	The Way, in a Way	204
	To Be or Not to Be	205
	Tao Fu	205
	The Good with the Bad	206
	In the Balance	206
	Better Halves	207
18	Tao and Later	209
	Inner Freedom	210
	Express Yourself	210
	The Tao of P'u	211
	The Way of the West	211
	Different Flows	212
	Hanging Loose	213
	Leading Lightly	213
	All in the Timing	213
	Kid Gloves	214
	Practical Tao	215
	Red Tape Tips	216
	Quitting Time	216
	Low Profile	217
	The Tao of Slacking Off	217
	All Judgements Aside	218
19	Tao and Forever	221
	The Tao of Pre-Chem	222
	Eye of Newt	222
	All That Glitters	223
	Magic in High Places	223
	High Fives	224
	Braving the Elements	224
	The Lay of the Land	225
	Mystical Fitness	226
	Living on Air	226
	Bang the Gong	227
	State Versus Spirit	227
	Tie a Yellow Turban	228
	Gut Feelings	229
20	Opposites in Flux	231
	Either Oracle	232
	The Tao of Chou	232
	Order of the Day	233
	Drawing the Lines	234
	It Takes Three to Yin-Yang-O	234
	The Big Picture	236
	Out of the Limelight	236
	Shell Game	237
	Worldly Wisdom	239
	Moving Heaven and Earth	239
	Grass Roots	241
	Going to the Well	243
Part 5	Sages in Service	245
21	Confucius Says	247
	The Man from Lu	248
	Old Ways, New Thinking	248
	Open Enrollment	249
	The Rite Stuff	250
	Take This Job and Shove It	250
	Road Scholars	251
	Do-Gooders	252
	Respecting Others, Being Respectable	253
	Two-Way Streets	253
	Hanging in the Balance	254
	An Official and a Gentleman	254
	Looking Out for Number One	255