I was very interested in the idea of Zen Buddhism since we hadn’t gone over it in great detail in class and because it is one of the more “well known” sects of Buddhism, at least everyone thinks they know what Zen is. I began my search by using the Lafayette library catalogue, where I searched the term “Zen Buddhism” and came up with a lot of hits. I probably could have narrowed this search down but decided to scroll through the first few pages of results. Immediately a title, “Like Cats and Dogs” by Steven Heine, stood out to me, I had no idea how this could relate to Zen Buddhism so I set out to find the book.

When end inspecting the book it turned out it was about the ko’an and the question “do dogs have Buddha souls” and the answer being “mu”. It focuses on the significance of the “mu”, deconstructing the “mu”, the textual and historical “mu”, other versions of the ko’an, and how the “mu” helps one achieve nirvana. I found it interesting that there was a whole book dedicated to this one question. And since we didn’t really talk about it in class, but it definitely was interesting and strange and something that might help me with my essay on Zen Buddhism. Perhaps I can explore the different ways the Zen Master helps his/her students move towards enlightenment through the use of this question.

On the shelf next to “Like Cats and Dogs” were other books some titled along the lines of “The Practices of Zen Buddhism” or “The Daily Life of a Zen Buddhist”. While these texts may not be as interesting as “Like Cats and Dogs”, they may be more helpful to gain a more basic understanding of Zen Buddhism for my essay.

Heine, Steven. “Like Cats and Dogs: Contesting the Mu Koan in Zen Buddhism”. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014. Print.

Tikhonov, Vladimir, and Torkel Brekke, eds. Buddhism and Violence: Militarism and Buddhism in Modern Asia. Abingdon: Routledge, 2013. Print.

First I went to the online catalog and searched Buddhism because that is the most appealing religion to me so far. I searched for a title that seemed interesting to me and “Buddhism and Violence”. Then the used the call number to find the book, which is easy because we learned that in elementary school.

The cover is sleek so that’s appealing for pickup. The titles of each section are descriptive, so the table of contents was helpful because it gave a slight insight into each section because the titles were so elaborate. The section I looked at was a bout Military Temples. Right off the bat the author uses a lot of concrete particulars, which is great to grab the reader’s attention. Each section also has a lot of references so that’s always good to check accuracy and how legit it is. Also the inclusion of pictures into the book is pretty neat, not many small educational books have pictures, so it helps to give more background to the topics talked about.

After flipping through more sections, overall this text seems very informative and beneficial if one were to study or need to write about any of the topics in this book. All in all I’d give this book an 8/10 (would read again) for sleekness, storyteller intro to the chapter I read, and put-togetherness.

Davidson, Ronald M.. Tibetan renaissance Tantric Buddhism in the rebirth of Tibetan culture. New York: Columbia University Press, 2005. Print.

I started my journey of finding the right book for my shelfie by searching up “Tibetan Buddhism” in the Lafayette library catalogue. I searched for “Tibetan Buddhism” because whenever I hear the word “Tibet” or “Tibetan”, I associated it with Buddhism. As a Tibetan, the Tibetan holidays I remember celebrating as a child were special and auspicious days for Buddhism so I wanted to see how much Buddhism has impacted the Tibetan culture. After contemplating between several books regarding Tibetan Buddhism, I decided to choose Tibetan Renaissance: Tantric Buddhism in the rebirth of Tibetan culture by Ronald M. Davidson. The cover for the book has really cool drawings of important deities (I believe) although the color scheme is pretty bland. What drew me to Tibetan Renaissance was the brief summary on the back of the book which stated, “Davidson explores how the translation and spread of esoteric Buddhist texts dramatically shaped Tibetan society” because that is exactly what I wanted to find out.

There are ten sections in the book, Tibetan Renaissance which sort of acts like a timeline for Tibet’s adaptation to Buddhism.  I personally found the second chapter, “The Demise of Dynasty and a Poorly Lit Path” to be the most interesting because I was able to imagine how Tibet was before the introduction of Buddhism. Learning that Tibet was once a strong militaristic empire is surprising because now people usually associate Tibet with Buddhism which is considered peaceful and compassionate. Learning how Tibet was prior to Buddhism helps me understand how Buddhism has made an impact on the Tibetan culture because it shows how this particular religion turned a country that was once perceived as “the most fearsome armed states in Asia”, into a country everyone now associates Buddhism with. The other chapters later on in the book showcase how the once powerful Tibetan empire crumbles into pieces followed by many political and social unrest. Tibetan Renaissance contains many illustrations of maps and deities which is helpful because it provides a visual understanding of Tibet’s transformation after the introduction of Buddhism. The book also contains a glossary in the back which provides one sentence explanations for difficult Tibetan terms. I plan on using this book for my research paper because it provides background history on Tibet both before and after Buddhism so it will be easier to see how Buddhism impacted Tibet’s culture and its society.

Sugirtharajah, Sharada. Imagining Hinduism: A postcolonial Perspective. New York: Routledge, 2003.

To start off my search I used the library catalogue and simply searched Hinduism. I was not sure which direction I wanted to go in but I knew that Hinduism was the religion that I wanted to study. When I saw the title Imagining Hinduism: A Postcolonial Perspective I immediately knew that this was the book for me. A postcolonial take on Hinduism stuck out as a very interesting way to learn about Hinduism.

When I saw the book, the beautiful cover art really stood out. Also the fact that the book was red didn’t hurt since that is my favorite color ☺. One of the chapters that stood out to me was William Ward’s “Virtuous Christians, vicious Hindus”. I was not expecting to see a title like this in a book that is about Hinduism. I was also impressed by the bibliography at the end of the book. This could be very useful when searching for other helpful books about Hinduism for my paper. This book would probably be helpful in writing my paper. I certainly would be able to get some great ideas from it that would be able to help me with further research.

There were a lot of books about Hinduism around where I found this book. All that I know could be very useful for me. I now know exactly where to look when I begin my research. I still don’t know which direction I will take my paper in, but I am a lot more confident in my ability to find sources now that I have done this exercise.

Seager, Richard Hughes. Buddhism in America. New York: Columbia UP, 1999. Print.

At first I did not know which religion to search for in the library. I was torn between Hinduism and Buddhism. I ruled out Jainism because I found it to be a religion that was surrounded by negative thoughts. Ultimately I decided on finding a book that related to Buddhism. I chose this religion as a whole because we are learning it now, and I wanted to understand how its practices stay the same and change as the country they are in changes. I chose a book that specifically related to the United States because I thought it would be more interesting to us as students considering the fact that we live here. While Chapters one and four specifically reference “The American Buddhist Landscape” and “The American Setting” respectively, the rest of the book either talks about major traditions or specific issues associated with Buddhism.

I found the cover to be very interesting, It is a white woman with her hands clasped together in prayer form. I thought this was important because when we think of Buddhism we tend to think of people from India, despite it being a world religion. The book as a whole is divided into three sections. Part one talks about background and establishes a setting of Buddhism in America. Part two talks about major traditions, such as different lines of buddhism. Lastly, part three talks about selected issues such as gender equality. I thought the division of this book was interesting because it went from how buddhism was established in America to Buddhism around the world back to selected issues associated with Buddhism in America. Looking through the book I found that the author used many verses and pictures to send the message across about how Buddhism works. I thought this was a smart way for people to try and understand Buddhism, especially for people like me who had never learned about it. The chapters that I would further expand on in a paper would be Chapter One “The American Buddhist Landscape” as well as Chapter Four “The American Setting” and Chapter Fourteen “Making Some Sense of Americanization.”

Overall, I found this book to be an interesting read. The author did a good job at connecting the Buddhism established centuries ago to the American adaptation and implementation of this religion. He was able to talk about how bringing Buddhism abroad caused some changes and how it was eventually Americanized. Apart from focusing on America the author is able to talk about present day issues in Buddhism such as gender equality. He addresses how women and men are treated different in this religion. Although this would not relate to the general underlying of my paper, I would find it to be an interesting topic to address. In the end, I found this book to go in depth about the transformation of Buddhism in America.

Teiser, Stephen F., and Jacqueline Ilyse Stone. Readings of the Lotus Sutra. New York: Columbia University Press, 2009. Print.

To begin this assignment I searched the Skillman Library catalogue specifically for “Lotus Sutra” since I am interested in how this sacred Buddhist scripture allowed for not only monks or bodhisattvas to attain enlightenment, but also how the Buddha, through the texts, encouraged the laity to journey through the cycle of samsara and hopefully reach nirvana. I was particularly drawn to the second return of my search since it contained edited selections (versions) from the Lotus Sutra from not only India, but also regions in East Asia such as China and Japan. When I looked through the stacks for the book, the front cover captivated me since it incorporated the lotus flower, which symbolizes various Buddhist ideals such as purity, good fortune, and the different stages of enlightenment. Similarly, within the center of the lotus, there was also a depiction of the Buddha with perhaps, his disciples.

As I flipped through thebook, Chapters Three and Six stood out to me the most. Chapter Three titled, “Gender and Hierarchy in the Lotus Sutra,” by Jan Nattier,seemed to correspond to our discussion of gendered religion we have had in the past classes. Throughout the various Buddhist sect versions of the Lotus Sutra, a common theme of classifying monks over nuns (ie. men over women) was evident despite their class status. Likewise male characters were portrayed predominantly compared to female characters in the myths. The idea that men were considered more pure, and therefore more capable of attaining enlightenment is an interesting concept that is rather intriguing to me. Later on Chapter Six, which focused on the “Art of the Lotus Sutra,” by Willa Jane Tanabe, allowed me to see the progression of Buddhism text as it passed through various countries, as well as the paintings and drawings of Buddhist myth scenes and the Buddha himself. Each country, and illustrator, had its (or his) own style of depicting the stories, the guide to living a pure life, and the Buddha. As a visual learner, I enjoyed comparing these symbolic representations.

The books around the Readings of the Lotus Sutra concentrated on Buddhism in East Asia and the many different practices that are found in the region. There were books that further analyzed Zen (Chan) Buddhism in China, those that focused on the origins of Buddhism in India, and the tranlations to other countries. Overall, texts such as The fundamental wisdom of the middle way: Nāgārjuna’s Mūlamadhyamakakārikā, Buddhist fundamentalism and minority identities in Sri Lanka, and A few good men: the Bodhisattva path according to the Inquiry of Ugra would be useful if I were to continue my understanding of gendered roles in Buddhism as well as the differences and similarities between Buddhist sect practices.

Hudson, Dennis D. Krishna’s Mandala: Bhagavata Religion and Beyond. New Dehli: Oxford University Press, 2010

My started with a visit to the library’s catalog. From there I used a keyword search for “Vaishnavism,” because I feel like the different sects of the religions we have learned about, Hinduism in particular, could provide for fascinating research. Studying Vaishnavism could also further uncover the monotheistic aspects of Hinduism we mentioned in class. Krishna’s Mandala was the first return I got and upon further investigation, I saw the book had a whole chapter devoted to Vaishnavism. After seeing that the other chapters put an emphasis on scriptures in the scriptures of Hinduism, I realized this was the book for me and after a quick through the stacks, I had found what I was looking for.

Upon seeing the book, the cover immediately captivated me because of the interesting painting adorning the top of it. It appears to depict Krishna and another deity riding on a chariot pulled by many horses towards an army of elephants, which is wild. Looking into the table of contents, I came to discover the book is divided into three sections, each with their own chapters. The first section “Tales of Two Cities,” was split into four chapters, each of which describing the mythology behind the city of Madurai, a city in South India populated by the Tamils. The first chapter “Madurai: The City as Goddess” was of particular interest because it showed the connection between society and Hinduism. The city, along with other cities, was thought to symbolize a deity. The second section, “Reading Bhagavata Texts – Temples and Tomes,” seemed to highlight the history of the Bhagavad Gita and the role it played in society, specifically in the “The Initiation of the Emperor” chapter which appears to like the text to the monarchy. The third section titled “Antal and the Sri Vaishnava World,” was of particular interest to me because it finally addressed the sect of Vaishnavism, namely its founding and theology. Antal, a female goddess from the Bhagavad Gita, “expounds” Vaishnava traditions and is revered by the sect. This section especially helps when trying to relate Vaishnavism to the scriptures and its interpretation of them.

Near Krishna’s Mandala is saw many writings about the tantras and different sects of Hinduism as well as the tales of different religious figures. The various books on the tantras represents their importance in Hinduism, an importance that would be intriguing to investigate. The book titled Vaisnavism looked interesting and would be very helpful if I further research Hindu sects. Another book, Reconstructing Tradition, also seems like it would provide for an fascinating read as the ambiguity of the title leaves the door open to so many possibilities.

I used the library’s online catalog to begin my search for a book using the keywords “Jainism” and “life” because I was interested in how Jains live out their religion in more ways than just yoga and daily rituals. As I was looking for my selection I noticed that the shelves were filled with books on religion (as expected) but each shelf seemed to touch on a different subcategory or theme such as science and religion or religion and anthropology. These topics were near my selection of “Life Force: The World of Jainism” by Micheal Tobias.

After a brief flip through I found this book to be a good selection as it focused only on Jainism and it contained eight clearly divided chapters exploring different aspects of the religion from the ascetics to the laity and even more recent developments in the community of Jainism. I also found it very helpful that the back of the book contained a three-page glossary of terms used in the book. I think using the original terms and vernacular adds authenticity to the work and helps the reader better understand the foundations of Jainism. The chapters ultimately describe the values and ethical decisions associated with Jainism and how they came to be. I am very interested in how these values play out in their daily lives and specifically how Jains came to be known as a relatively successful community. I found it compelling that the final chapters of this book touch on the fact that this religion of restraint has led Jains to reap great rewards without giving up any of their values.  This 100-page book offers a easy-to-read and succinct overview of the most important elements of life as a Jain.

In my searching prgress, I went to the library catalog and typed ‘Tibetan Assimilation Buddhism.’ Using those keywords, I found a book called “the Tibetan Assimilation of Buddhism” which I believe is the best fit of what I am interested. The reason that Tibetan Buddhism is appealing to me, because I visited Tibet 8 years ago. I was only 12 years old, and the most impressive scene of the visiting in Tibet is in the Potala Palace which there was a small scaled world which consists of many temples, and everything in that world is golden color. Our tour guide explained that only those who are enlightened can enter this world. The Potala Palace is a magnificent building. When I stood at the bottom of the Potala, I remembered that I saw hundreds of steps going upward to the palace. In addition, there are a bunch of barrels with scriptures on them along the Potala, and if people touch each of those, it means good luck I guess. That’s why I am so curious about Tibetan Buddhism.

The Tibetan Assimilation of Buddhism: Conversion, Contestation, and Memory written by Matthew T. Kapstein. The cover has a black and white photo of a Tibetan ritual temples, and the style looks similar to Potala Palace. In the contents, the author divides chapters into three big parts which are conversion and narrative, source of contestation, and myth, memory, revelation.

On the other hand, I am also thinking about getting another book called: Tibetan Buddhism: a very short introduction written by the same author as a reference.

Bose, Mandakranta. Women in the Hindu Tradition: Rules, Roles and   Exceptions. London: Routledge, 2010. Print.

 At the beginning of my shelfie process, I initially wanted a book on Jainism and its beliefs in karma. However, I was unable to find anything substantial or relevant. I then turned my focus on women in Hinduism. After doing research on the One-Child Policy, in China, last year, I’ve become interested in how women are/have been perceived and treated in different cultures and religions. As a result, I wanted to further expand my knowledge of women in the Hindu tradition. Thus, I searched the terms “Hinduism” and “Women” into the Lafayette Library Catalog. The first few results did not satisfy me so I kept scrolling. The 15^th result was the book Women in the Hindu Tradition: Rules, Roles and Exceptions, by Mandakranta Bose, which contained the information that I had been looking for.

At first glance, the cover of the book looks very bland; however, the content of the book is not. The book is divided into four sections, excluding the introduction and conclusion. These sections are “Gendered divinity”, “Shaping women’s lives: the role of ancient Hindu texts”, “Women poets of Hinduism”, and “Sanctuary: women and home worship”.  While flipping through the book, I noticed that Bose goes into great detail about many of the goddesses that we have discussed in class as well as some of the Epics, including the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. This connection to class on information that we have already learned made it easier to get a picture of what Bose was arguing.  Everything that I found in this book is what I had expected to find after searching for women in Hinduism.  If I were to write a paper on this topic, I would read the introduction and the chapter on the impact of ancient Hindu texts on women’s lives. I was immediately drawn to this chapter because the influence that some of these sacred texts have amazes me as they have the power to impact ones life. I would need to do more research, but this would be a great starting point.

There were many other fascinating books near the one written by Bose. These books covered religions from Jainism to Hinduism to Buddhism. One book, in particular, that stood out to me was Women in Epic Mahabharata, by Kevin McGrath, which could potentially help me write my paper. Other than this book, most of the other books were very broad and covered every aspect of a specific religion.