Asian

Journey to the West (4-Volume Boxed Set)

Journey to the West is a classic Chinese mythological novel. It was written during the Ming Dynasty based on traditional folktales. Consisting of 100 chapters, this fantasy relates the adventures of a Tang Dynasty (618-907) priest Sanzang and his three disciples, Monkey, Pig and Friar Sand, as they travel west in search of Buddhist Sutra. The first seven chapters recount the birth of the Monkey King and his rebellion against Heaven. Then in chapters eight to twelve, we learn how Sanzang was born and why he is searching for the scriptures, as well as his preparations for the journey. The rest of the story describes how they vanquish demons and monsters, tramp over the Fiery Mountain, cross the Milky Way, and after overcoming many dangers, finally arrive at their destination - the Thunder Monastery in the Western Heaven - and find the Sutra.

Attached are a number of illustrations drawn during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

Myths of Light: Eastern Metaphors of the Eternal (Collected Work of Joseph Campbell Series)

The Mysteries of Mithras: The Pagan Belief That Shaped the Christian World

An overview of Mithraism, the ancient Roman mystery religion popular in the Roman Legions

• Provides a comprehensive history of Mithraism, including its influence on Christianity and Islam

• Includes rituals, meditations, and teaching tales for readers who wish to follow the Mithraic path

• Studies the evolution and divergence of the Eastern (Persian) and Western (Roman) forms of Mithraism

The Mysteries of Mithras presents a revival of the magical practices and initiatory system of Mithraism, the ancient Roman mystery religion that was immensely popular in the Roman Legions from the late second century B.C. until A.D. 400 and was taken to every corner of the Roman Empire. As the last pagan state religion in Europe, it was the most important competitor to early Christianity and heavily influenced Christian doctrine and symbolism. The parallels between Christianity and ancient Mithraism are striking--for example, the god Mithra was born of a virgin in a cave on December 25.

Payam Nabarz reveals the history, origins, and spiritual and philosophical tenets of Mithraism and its connections to Christianity, Islam, and Freemasonry. He also describes the modern neo-pagan practice of Mithraism in evidence today and for readers who wish to adopt the Mithraic path, he includes seven of its initiatory rituals and meditations, as well as orations and teaching tales, that open the door to the seven Mithraic grades of passage.

Basho's Narrow Road: Spring and Autumn Passages (Rock Spring Collection of Japanese Literature)

Matsuo Basho (1644-94) is considered Japan's greatest haiku poet. Narrow Road to the Interior (Oku no Hosomichi) is his masterpiece. Ostensibly a chronological account of the poet's five-month journey in 1689 into the deep country north and west of the old capital, Edo, the work is in fact artful and carefully sculpted, rich in literary and Zen allusion and filled with great insights and vital rhythms. In Basho's Narrow Road: Spring and Autumn Passages, poet and translator Hiroaki Sato presents the complete work in English and examines the threads of history, geography, philosophy, and literature that are woven into Basho's exposition. He details in particular the extent to which Basho relied on the community of writers with whom he traveled and joined in linked verse (renga) poetry sessions, an example of which, A Farewell Gift to Sora, is included in this volume. In explaining how and why Basho made the literary choices he did, Sato shows how the poet was able to transform his passing observations into words that resonate across time and culture.

In Ghostly Japan (Tuttle Classics of Japanese Literature)

One night, at a very late hour, Tomozo heard the voice of a woman in his master's apartment; and this made him uneasy. He feared that Shinzaburo, being very gentle and affectionate, might be made the dupe of some cunning wanton,--in which event the domestics would be the first to suffer. He therefore resolved to watch; and on the following night he stole on tiptoe to Shinzaburo's dwelling, and looked through a chink in one of the sliding shutters. By the glow of a night-lantern within the sleeping-room, he was able to perceive that his master and a strange woman were talking together under the mosquito-net.

Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest of Times to A.D. 697 (Tuttle Classics of Japanese Literature)

Monkey: A Journey to the West

Part spiritual pilgrimage, part historical epic, the folk novel Journey to the West , which came to be known as Monkey, is the most popular classic of Asian literature. Originally written in the sixteenth century, it is the story of the adventures of the rogue-trickster Monkey and his encounters with a bizarre cast of characters as he travels to India with the Buddhist pilgrim Tripitaka in search of sacred scriptures. Much more than a picaresque adventure novel, Monkey is a profound allegory of the struggle that must occur before spiritual transformation is possible. David Kherdian's masterful telling brings this classic of Chinese literature to life in a way that is true to the scope and depth of the original.

The Kojiki: Records of Ancient Matters (Tuttle Classics of Japanese Literature)

Everyday Life in Traditional Japan (Tuttle Classics of Japanese Literature)

The Art of Writing: Lu Chi's Wen Fu

It's hard to believe that a book written around 200 A.D. can so poignantly cut to the quick of writing's agony and ecstasy. Everything that concerns the writer is beautifully addressed, from writer's block ("Sometimes the door remains bolted") to language's limitations ("all their real jewels cannot fill the cup I make of my fingers"), upwards to the writer's re-vision of themes ("a common song sung to a great melody is another way to find beauty") and the joy of creating ("in a single yard of silk, there is infinite space"). This book offers a fresh perspective out of an ancient text.