Here are posts labelled "Sacred Texts" on The Guide
Just the Facts:
- Name: Sayings of the Fathers
- Known in various spellings: Pirke Aboth, Pirkei Avot, etc.
- Dates: "From Moses onward"
- Place: From Israel throughout the Diaspora
- Language: Hebrew
- What it was: Ethical teachings of rabbis across the ages, expressed in pithy verses
- Included in lists (What's This?): Bloom
Let's consider this a placeholder as I build out the site.
Once that's done, I'll be back to fill in the details--an essay,
links to online and Amazon books, and more. I'll be posting
updates on Facebook and Twitter.
Follow along!
Until I get to it, there's always Wikipedia!
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| Xibalba, the Mayan underworld |
Just the Facts:
- Name: Popol Vuh
- A;so known as: Popol Wu'uj
- Dates: between 1554 and 1558
- Place: Guatemala
- Language: Quiche (K'iche')
- What it is: Mayan mythological text
Let's consider this a placeholder as I build out the site.
Once that's done, I'll be back to fill in the details--an essay,
links to online and Amazon books, and more. I'll be posting
updates on Facebook and Twitter. Follow along!
Until I get to it, there's always Wikipedia!
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| 19th-century conception of Kabir |
Just the Facts:
- Name: Kabir
- Dates: 15th century; perhaps 1398-1448 or 1440-1518
- Place: India
- Language: Hindi (?) (and dialects)
- Who he was: Indian mystic poet; Bijak (sacred texts); Anurag Sagar (Ocean of Love)
Let's consider this a placeholder as I build out the site.
Once that's done, I'll be back to fill in the details--an essay,
links to online and Amazon books, and more. I'll be posting
updates on Facebook and Twitter. Follow along!
Until I get to it, there's always Wikipedia!
Just the Facts:
- Name: Nasreddin Hodja
- Known by multiple names across many cultures
- Dates: died c. 1280
- Place: Turkey
- Language: Turkish (?)
- Who he was: Turkish Muslim holy man and funny man, subject of thousands of stories
Let's consider this a placeholder as I build out the site.
Once that's done, I'll be back to fill in the details--an essay,
links to online and Amazon books, and more. I'll be posting
updates on Facebook and Twitter. Follow along!
Until I get to it, there's always Wikipedia!
Just the Facts:
- Name: Kukai
- Known as: Kobo Daishi
- Birth: July 27, 774, Zentsuji, Kagawa Prefecture, Japan
- Death: April 22, 835, Mount Koya, Koya, Wakayama, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan
- Language: Japanese
- Who he was: Japanese monk and founder of Shingon Buddhism; fifty religious works, including Attaining Enlightenment in This Very Existence; The Meaning of Sound, Word, Reality; Meanings of the Word Hum
Let's consider this a placeholder as I build out the site.
Once that's done, I'll be back to fill in the details--an essay,
links to online and Amazon books, and more. I'll be posting
updates on Facebook and Twitter. Follow along!
Until I get to it, there's always Wikipedia!
Just the Facts:
- Name: O no Yasumaro
- Died: August 15, 723 (birthdate unknown)
- Place: Japan
- Language: Japanese
- Who he was: Japanese chronicler; compiled and edited Kojiki (A Record of Ancient Matters), a book of mythology and history; probably assisted Prince Toneri with Nihon Shoki (The Chronicles of Japan)
Let's consider this a placeholder as I build out the site.
Once that's done, I'll be back to fill in the details--an essay,
links to online and Amazon books, and more. I'll be posting
updates on Facebook and Twitter. Follow along!
Until I get to it, there's always Wikipedia!
Just the Facts:
- Name: Prince Toneri
- Known as: Toneri shinnō
- Birth: January 28, 676, Japan
- Death: December 6, 735, Japan
- Language: Japanese
- Who he was: Japanese author (with O no Yasumaro) of Nihon Shoki (The Chronicles of Japan), starting with the creation myths and blending into history up to the 8th century
Let's consider this a placeholder as I build out the site.
Once that's done, I'll be back to fill in the details--an essay,
links to online and Amazon books, and more. I'll be posting
updates on Facebook and Twitter. Follow along!
Until I get to it, there's always Wikipedia!
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| Effigy (mummy?) of Huineng |
Just the Facts:
- Name: Huineng
- Date: 638-713
- Place: Guangdong Province, China
- Language: Chinese
- Who he was: Chinese monk and patriarch of Chan (Zen), wrote The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch
- Included in lists (What's This?): LRP
Let's consider this a placeholder as I build out the site.
Once that's done, I'll be back to fill in the details--an essay,
links to online and Amazon books, and more. I'll be posting
updates on Facebook and Twitter. Follow along!
Until I get to it, there's always Wikipedia!
Just the Facts:
- Name: Harsha
- Dates: c. 590-647
- Place: India
- Language: Sanskrit
- Who he was: Indian king and playwright who wrote Nagananda (Joy of the Serpents), which tells how prince Jimutavahana offers his own body to stop a sacrifice of serpents (Nagas) to the divine Garuda (a large, mythical bird who is the vehicle of Lord Vishnu)
Let's consider this a placeholder as I build out the site.
Once that's done, I'll be back to fill in the details--an essay,
links to online and Amazon books, and more. I'll be posting
updates on Facebook and Twitter. Follow along!
Until I get to it, there's always Wikipedia!
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A scene from the Ramayana (basis of Bhattikavya) in which
Lord Rama (blue) looks on as Hanuman (monkey-like)
fights the multi-headed demon Ravana |
Just the Facts:
- Name: Bhatti
- Date: 7th century
- Place: India
- Language: Sanskrit
- Who he was: Indian poet who wrote Bhattikavya (Bhatti's Poem), also called Ravanavadha (The Death of Ravana), sixth of the (five/six) Mahakavya
Let's consider this a placeholder as I build out the site.
Once that's done, I'll be back to fill in the details--an essay,
links to online and Amazon books, and more. I'll be posting
updates on Facebook and Twitter. Follow along!
Until I get to it, there's always Wikipedia!
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| Arjuna recognizes Lord Shiva and yields to him |
Just the Facts:
- Name: Bharavi
- Date: 6th century
- Place: India
- Language: Sanskrit
- Who he was: Indian poet who wrote Kiratarjuniya in which Arjuna battles Lord Shiva in the guise of a kirata or mountain-dwelling hunter; one of the (five/six) Mahakavya
Let's consider this a placeholder as I build out the site.
Once that's done, I'll be back to fill in the details--an essay,
links to online and Amazon books, and more. I'll be posting
updates on Facebook and Twitter. Follow along!
Until I get to it, there's always Wikipedia!
Just the Facts:
- Name: Jianzhi Sengcan
- Known as: Sengcan
- Dates: 529-606
- Place: China
- Language: Chinese
- Who he was: Chinese Chan (Zen) monk and patriarch; wrote Xinxin Ming (Faith in Mind)
Let's consider this a placeholder as I build out the site.
Once that's done, I'll be back to fill in the details--an essay,
links to online and Amazon books, and more. I'll be posting
updates on Facebook and Twitter. Follow along!
Until I get to it, there's always Wikipedia!
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| Skanda, son of Shiva in this Purana |
Just the Facts:
- Name: Skanda Purana
- Date: 6th century
- Place: India
- Language: Sanskrit
- What it is: Indian holy book of stories centering on Lord Shiva; attributed to Vyasa (c. 200)
Let's consider this a placeholder as I build out the site.
Once that's done, I'll be back to fill in the details--an essay,
links to online and Amazon books, and more. I'll be posting
updates on Facebook and Twitter. Follow along!
Until I get to it, there's always Wikipedia!
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| Manimekalai feeds the poor |
Just the Facts:
- Name: Sithalai Sathanar
- Date: 6th century
- Place: India
- Language: Tamil
- Who he was: Tamil poet; Manimekalai (a woman's name) in which Manimekalai, daughter of Cilappatikaram (see Silappatikaram [The Tale of an Anklet], 2nd century), renounces the world to become a Buddhist nun; includes Buddha's life, work and philosophy; one of the three surviving "Five Great Epics of Tamil Literature"
Let's consider this a placeholder as I build out the site.
Once that's done, I'll be back to fill in the details--an essay,
links to online and Amazon books, and more. I'll be posting
updates on Facebook and Twitter. Follow along!
Until I get to it, there's always Wikipedia!
Just the Facts:
- Name: Bodhidharma
- Dates: 5th or 6th century
- Places: Indian culture sphere --> China
- Language: Sanskrit?; Persian? Chinese?
- Who he was: quasi-legendary Indian (?) Buddhist monk and patriarch credited with bringing the Chan (Zen) tradition to China; attributed writings include Outline of Practice; Bloodstream Sermon; Wake-up Sermon; Breakthrough Sermon
Let's consider this a placeholder as I build out the site.
Once that's done, I'll be back to fill in the details--an essay,
links to online and Amazon books, and more. I'll be posting
updates on Facebook and Twitter. Follow along!
Until I get to it, there's always Wikipedia!
Just the Facts:
- Name: Edward Conze
- Birth: March 18, 1904, London Borough of Lewisham, UK
- Death: September 24, 1979, Yeovil, UK
- Languages: German; English
- Who he was: Anglo-German Buddhist scholar known for Buddhism: Its Essence and Development; Buddhism. A Short History; The Memoirs of a Modern Gnostic; numerous translations of the Prajñāpāramitā Literature
Let's consider this a placeholder as I build out the site.
Once that's done, I'll be back to fill in the details--an essay,
links to online and Amazon books, and more. I'll be posting
updates on Facebook and Twitter. Follow along!
Until I get to it, there's always Wikipedia!
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Chinese text of the Heart Sūtra by Yuan dynasty
artist and calligrapher Zhao Mengfu (1254-1322) |
Just the Facts:
- Name: Prajñāpāramitā Hṛdaya Sutra
- Also known as: The Heart Sutra
- Dates: c. 350 CE
- Place: India
- Language: Sanskrit
- What it is: Indian Buddhist text; like the Diamond, one of the shortest, densest of sutras. It is said to contain the "heart" of all Buddhist wisdom literature, which is that all existence is empty.
Let's consider this a placeholder as I build out the site.
Once that's done, I'll be back to fill in the details--an essay,
links to online and Amazon books, and more. I'll be posting
updates on Facebook and Twitter. Follow along!
Until I get to it, there's always Wikipedia!
 |
| Zoroaster in Raphael's School of Athens |
Just the Facts:
- Name: Avesta
- Dates: 224-651
- Place: Persia
- Language: Avestan
- What it is: Zoroastrian collection of religious texts; various authors, compiled during the Sasanian Empire of Persia (224-651)
Let's consider this a placeholder as I build out the site.
Once that's done, I'll be back to fill in the details--an essay,
links to online and Amazon books, and more. I'll be posting
updates on Facebook and Twitter. Follow along!
Until I get to it, there's always Wikipedia!
 |
The sage Narada, who lent his name to
the Naradiya Purana, one of the eighteen |
Just the Facts:
- Name: Maha Puranas
- Also known as: The Great Puranas
- Date: 3rd-10th centuries CE
- Place: India
- Language: Sanskrit
- What they are: Indian holy books; 18 texts, attributed to Vyasa (c. 200 BCE)
Let's consider this a placeholder as I build out the site.
Once that's done, I'll be back to fill in the details--an essay,
links to online and Amazon books, and more. I'll be posting
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Until I get to it, there's always Wikipedia!
;
Maha Puranas (Great Puranas) (3rd-10th centuries) Indian holy books; 18 texts, attributed to Vyasa (c. 200 BCE)
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| Krishna drives Arjuna's chariot |
Just the Facts:
- Name: Bhagavad Gita
- Also known as: "The Song of the Lord"
- Date: 4th century CE
- Place: India
- Language: Sanskrit
- What it is: Indian holy book presenting a conversation between a prince named Arjuna and his chariot driver, the god Krishna in disguise; part of Mahabharata (but often encountered independently); and like it attributed to Vyasa (c. 200)
- Included in lists (What's This?): HC, LRP; Bloom
Let's consider this a placeholder as I build out the site.
Once that's done, I'll be back to fill in the details--an essay,
links to online and Amazon books, and more. I'll be posting
updates on Facebook and Twitter. Follow along!
Until I get to it, there's always Wikipedia!
