Sir Joseph Hooker (1817–1911) was one of the greatest British botanists and explorers of the nineteenth century. His journey to Northern India, the Himalayas, Nepal and Tibet was undertaken between 18
Sir Joseph Hooker (1817–1911) was one of the greatest British botanists and explorers of the nineteenth century. He succeeded his father, Sir William Jackson Hooker, as Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and was a close friend and supporter of Charles Darwin. His journey to the Himalayas and India was undertaken between 1847 and 1851 to collect plants for Kew, and his account, published in 1854, was dedicated to Darwin. Hooker collected some 7,000 species in India and Nepal, and carried out surveys and made maps which proved of economic and military importance to the British. He was arrested by the Rajah of Sikkim, but the British authorities secured his release by threatening to invade, and annexing part of the small kingdom. Volume 1 begins at his arrival in Calcutta, and follows his travels northward to Sikkim and Nepal via Bangalore and Darjeeling, and then on to Tibet.
This is the story of a young boy, born in Tibet to inherit the role of Buddhist lineage holder, whose life was interrupted by the Chinese army invasion and the ensuing Cultural Revolution. Two decades
In this clearly written undergraduate textbook, Stephen Laumakis explains the origin and development of Buddhist ideas and concepts, focusing on the philosophical ideas and arguments presented and defended by selected thinkers and sutras from various traditions. He starts with a sketch of the Buddha and the Dharma, and highlights the origins of Buddhism in India. He then considers specific details of the Dharma with special attention to Buddhist metaphysics and epistemology, and examines the development of Buddhism in China, Japan, and Tibet, concluding with the ideas of the Dalai Lama and Thich Nhat Hanh. In each chapter he includes explanations of key terms and teachings, excerpts from primary source materials, and presentations of the arguments for each position. His book will be an invaluable guide for all who are interested in this rich and vibrant philosophy.
The dictionary definition of tradition refers to beliefs and practices that have been transmitted from generation to generation, however, 'tradition' can rest simply on the claim that certain cultural elements are rooted in the past. Claim and documented historical reality need not overlap. In the domain of religion, historically verifiable traditions coexist with recent innovations whose origins are spuriously projected back into time. This book examines the phenomenon of 'invented traditions' in religions ranging in time from Zoroastrianism to Scientology, and geographically from Tibet to North America and Europe. The various contributions, together with an introduction that surveys the field, use individual case studies to address questions such as the rationale for creating historical tradition for one's doctrines and rituals; the mechanisms by which hitherto unknown texts can enter an existing corpus; and issues of acceptance and scepticism in the reception of dubious texts.
Mountain Weather and Climate is an all-encompassing textbook describing mountain weather and climate processes. Results from several major field programs have been incorporated into this edition, including the European Alpine Experiment, studies of air drainage in the western United States and experiments on air flow over low hills. There are many new figures and selected regional case studies including new material on central Asia, Tibet, Greenland, Antarctica, the Andes, New Zealand, the Alps and equatorial East Africa. Chapters examine topics from human bioclimatology, weather hazards and air pollution, to climate change in mountain regions. Beginning with historical aspects of mountain meteorology, the book deals with the latitudinal, altitudinal and topographic controls of meteorological elements, circulation systems related to orography, and the climatic characteristics of mountains. It is ideal for graduates and researchers in meteorology, climatology, ecology, forestry, glaciol
In this clearly written undergraduate textbook, Stephen Laumakis explains the origin and development of Buddhist ideas and concepts, focusing on the philosophical ideas and arguments presented and defended by selected thinkers and sutras from various traditions. He starts with a sketch of the Buddha and the Dharma, and highlights the origins of Buddhism in India. He then considers specific details of the Dharma with special attention to Buddhist metaphysics and epistemology, and examines the development of Buddhism in China, Japan, and Tibet, concluding with the ideas of the Dalai Lama and Thich Nhat Hanh. In each chapter he includes explanations of key terms and teachings, excerpts from primary source materials, and presentations of the arguments for each position. His book will be an invaluable guide for all who are interested in this rich and vibrant philosophy.
Renowned meditation master Chögyam Trungpa retells the stories and realization songs of Tibet's best-known and most-beloved religious figure--and reveals how they relate to our everyday lives. Mi
Isabella Bishop (née Bird) published Among the Tibetans in 1894 and recounts her adventures of five years earlier. Bird was recommended an open-air life from an early age as a cure for her physical and nervous difficulties. She had previously toured the United States and Canada, New Zealand, Australia, the Sandwich Islands, and the Far East before her marriage to Dr John Bishop. After his death in 1886, Isabella resolved to travel again, although now for missionary purposes. She studied practical medicine at St Mary's Hospital in London and was baptised in a ceremony of total immersion. She travelled to India and Tibet in 1889, both visiting medical missions and embarking on the journey into Ladakh on horseback and by houseboat, camping and living among the natives. The book recounts her observations of day-to-day life in the area, as well as its politics and environment.
The wind is a fickle source of power. Windspeeds are frequently too low to be of any practical use, so that windpower has generally remained a marginal resource. Since the inception of windpower around 1000 AD, technology has been deployed to obtain the most economical power from wind. The author traces its technical evolution, concentrating on the growth in understanding of wind and charting crucial developments in windmill design. The history of the windmill is focused on North Western Europe, drawing on the origins of the first horizontal windmills in Persia, Tibet and China. Industrial applications such as in textiles, papermaking and mining are examined. Gradually, windmills were improved but were finally eclipsed by steam engines in the nineteenth century due to increased levels of industrialisation. The book concludes with a look at the recent re-emergence of windpower as a viable source of power in the wake of the energy crisis.
A story of adventure, survival, courage, and hope, set in the vivid Himalayan landscape of Tibet and India. In this contemporary story, Tash lives in Tibet, where as a practicing Buddhist she must fol
For readers of Pachinko and We Need New Names, the compelling and profound story of a Tibetan family’s journey through exile.In the wake of China’s invasion of Tibet in 1959, Lhamo and her younger sister Tenkyi arrive at a refugee camp on the border of Nepal. Lhamo and Tenkyi survived the dangerous journey across the Himalayas into exile, but their parents did not. Now, Lhamo―haunted by the loss of her homeland and the memory of her mother, a village oracle―is trying to rebuild a life amid a shattered community. Lhamo finds hope in the arrival of a young man named Samphel, whose uncle brings with him an ancient statue of a nameless saint―a statue last seen in their village and known for vanishing and reappearing in times of need.Decades later, the sisters are separated, and Tenkyi is living with Lhamo’s daughter Dolma in Toronto. While Tenkyi works as a cleaner and struggles with traumatic memories, Dolma is vying for a place as a scholar of Tibet Studies. But when Dolma comes across t
Little explored and virtually inaccessible, the Tsangpo Gorge in south-east Tibet is the world's deepest gorge. Through it twists the Yarlong Tsangpo, Tibet's great river, emerging from below on the p
Nadia is dead. Her widower, Albert, comforted by his old friend Bettine, is trying to put his life back together. His son, Enrico, has gone to find himself in Tibet. Enrico's girlfriend, Dita, is bein
In this interdisciplinary study, Jenny George Daccache and Brandon Valeriano analyze Hollywood's shift in its depictions of China and Tibet. 1997 saw the releases of Red Corner, Seven Years in Tibet,
In Mandarin Gate, Edgar Award winner Eliot Pattison brings Shan back in a thriller that navigates the explosive political and religious landscape of Tibet. In an earlier time, Shan Tao Yun was an Insp
Discovering the remains of an actual dragon frozen in the mountains of Tibet, Chinese adventurer Jesse Chang sends a DNA sample to her geneticist twin brother Jack, who sets to work unlocking its pote
In Tibetan religious literature, Jamgon Kongtrul's Treasury of Knowledge in ten books stands out as a unique, encyclopedic masterpiece embodying the entire range of Buddhist teachings as it was preserved in Tibet. This volume is the fifth book of that work and is considered by many scholars to be its heart. Jamgon Kongtrul explains the complete code of personal liberation as it applies to both monastic and lay persons, the precepts for those aspiring to the life of a bodhisattva, and the exceptional pledges for practitioners on the tantric path of pure perception.
In Tibetan religious literature, Jamgon Kongtrul's Treasury of Knowledge in ten books stands out as a unique, encyclopedic masterpiece embodying the entire range of Buddhist teachings as it was preserved in Tibet. This volume, Frameworks of Buddhist Philosophy, is his masterful survey of the broad themes and subtle philosophical points found in more than fifteen hundred years of Buddhist philosophical writings. In a clear and systematic manner, he sets out the traditional framework of Buddhism's three vehicles and four philosophical systems, and provides an overview of the key points of each system. His syncretic approach, which emphasizes the strengths of each of the systems and incorporates them into a comprehensive picture of philosophical endeavor, is well-suited for scholar-practitioners who seek awakening through the combination of analytical inquiry and meditation.
