This Sutra tells how Earth Store Bodhisattva became known as Foremost in Vows. Also called the Sutra of Filial Piety, this text describes several of the Bodhisattva's past lives. It is a clear, practical manual for how to handle the circumstances of life, death, and rebirth.

A resource ideal for students as well as general readers, this two-volume encyclopedia examines the diversity of the Asian American and Pacific Islander spiritual experience. Despite constituting a fairly small proportion of the U.S. population—roughly 5 percent—Asian Americans are a widely diverse group with equally heterogeneous religious beliefs and traditions. This encyclopedia provides a single source for authoritative information on the Asian American and Pacific Islander religious experience, addressing South Asian Americans, such as Indian Americans and Pakistani Americans; East Asian Americans, including Chinese Americans, Japanese Americans, and Korean Americans; and Southeast Asian Americans, whose ethnicities include Filipino Americans, Thai Americans, and Vietnamese Americans. Pacific Islanders include Hawaiians, Samoans, Marshallese, Tongan, and Chamorro. The coverage includes not only traditional eastern belief systems and traditions such as Buddhism, Confucianism, and Hinduism as well as Micronesian and Polynesian religious traditions in the United States, but also the culture and religious rituals of Asian American Christians.

The Resolve for Bodhi (bodhicitta), the aspiration to reach full Awakening for the sake of all living beings, is a core element of Mahayana Buddhism. This short text by Master Xing An (d. 1734) who lived in Hangzhou, provides instructions on the Resolve for Bodhi that fit well into the Chinese cultural context, while staying true to the spirit of Mahayana Buddhism. Mainly written for a monastic audience, the text provides an intriguing glimpse into the Buddhism of the Qing Dynasty, which is yet to receive much scholarly attention. At the same time, the text and its modern commentary by Tripitaka Master Hsuan Hua also speak to the people of the twenty-first century, asking what makes our lives worth living. (Based on audio recordings of lectures given by Master Hua at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas in Ukiah, California, in 1979, and at Gold Mountain Monastery in San Francisco in 1985)

Toxicology in Antiquity provides an authoritative and fascinating exploration into the use of toxins and poisons in antiquity. It brings together the two previously published shorter volumes on the topic, as well as adding considerable new information. Part of the History of Toxicology and Environmental Health series, it covers key accomplishments, scientists, and events in the broad field of toxicology, including environmental health and chemical safety. This first volume sets the tone for the series and starts at the very beginning, historically speaking, with a look at toxicology in ancient times. The book explains that before scientific research methods were developed, toxicology thrived as a very practical discipline. People living in ancient civilizations readily learned to distinguish safe substances from hazardous ones, how to avoid these hazardous substances, and how to use them to inflict harm on enemies. It also describes scholars who compiled compendia of toxic agents. New chapters in this edition focus chiefly on evidence for the use of toxic agents derived from religious texts. - Provides the historical background for understanding modern toxicology - Illustrates the ways previous civilizations learned to distinguish safe from hazardous substances, how to avoid the hazardous substances and how to use them against enemies - Explores the way famous historical figures used toxins - New chapters focus on evidence of the use of toxins derived from religious texts

Often cited as perhaps the best-known Mahayana Buddhist sutra, the Heart Sutra has been chanted daily in Buddhist monasteries in Asia for more than a thousand years. This sutra, the “heart” of the larger Prajna Paramita (Perfection of Wisdom) Sutra, describes the experience of the liberation of the bodhisattva of compassion, Avalokiteśvara, through the insight gained from deep meditation into the fundamental emptiness of all phenomena. With commentary by the Tripitaka Master Hsuan Hua, one of the foremost Tripitaka and Chan masters of Chinese Buddhism in the United States. Translated by Ronald Epstein, PhD.