The author explores major themes of the eighth house, perceiving this sphere of the natal chart as a gate or passage for rebirth, renewal, and regeneration, a doorway leading to the "underworld" existing within the individual and collective psyche.

In the holy city of Lhasa, the shadow of a spy is secretly trailing the exiled journalist Liang Huatao. Meanwhile, inside the Jokhang Temple, the country's President is worshiping the Buddha statue. Three years into the pandemic, the Chinese nation, ruled by a bloodthirsty empire, has completely fallen into the abyss of economic collapse, livelihood, and cultural decay. The masses with a troubled fate have fallen into a desperate situation, entering their darkest hour. With the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war, China is also poised to initiate a war slaughtering its people! Warriors from all social strata, striving for the freedom and democracy of the masses and the nation and for world peace, courageously uphold the sword of justice, armed with truth as their shield and armor. They march towards the battlefield for the rebirth of the people and the nation. Consequently, some find themselves imprisoned, and some penetrate deep into the Kremlin to cease the war, while others sacrifice their lives to rouse the evil demons in a bid to rescue the masses. The awakened populace ultimately embarks on a journey of non-violent resistance... In the land of Tibet, filled with pure faith, sinful souls are shaken by the truth of the Heavenly Dao, cleansed by the wisdom of the Tibetan people in harmony with nature, and saved by the Buddhist faith, full of universal truth and great compassion. The era when humanity attains the ultimate wisdom of the universe has finally arrived!

In the next village, there was a crazy old woman who had died. She didn't close her eyes when she died, so how many people couldn't lift the coffin? There was a tribulation of life, but there was also a tribulation of death. Babies who don't survive a death are not going to make it to the New World. If the deceased could not survive the calamity, they could not leave. They had to stay by their loved ones' side all this time. A green bamboo flag appeared and sent the soul away.

When Gunnar Long is transported into the first fully-immersive virtual MMORPG, he finds himself in a new world filled with magic, mystery and adventure. No more 9-to-5 job. No more studio apartment. No more reality TV. Finally, he's in a place where he can call home, a place with people he can call friends. But as more people want to trade their real world lives to get inside Eden's Gate, the government of the outside world wants the "game" shut down at all costs. Gunnar must learn to survive, grow in power and find a way to send a message back to his old home. "We're fine. We're alive. Eden's Gate is real." Eden's Gate is a LitRPG adventure.

“Russell’s new high fantasy series launch is well written with a definite steampunk vibe and sword-and-sorcery appeal.” —Library Journal A world consumed by war. An ancient evil resurrected. A millennia-old bargain comes due . . . When two blades clash, the third will fall, and the fate of all will be jeopardized. To save Lozaria, the failures of the past must be atoned for by a new generation of heroes. The time has come for mortals to cast off sight and, in doing so, truly come to see . . . Victory is never absolute. Seven centuries ago, the forces of order won the Illyriite War on the plains of Har’muth. Darmatus and Rabban Aurelian slew their elder brother, Sarcon, the despotic architect of the conflict, then sacrificed themselves to banish the cataclysmic vortex opened with his dying breath. The first advent of the Oblivion Well was thwarted. Even without their vanished gods, the seven races of Lozaria proved themselves capable of safeguarding their world. Or so the story goes. The year is now 697 A.B.H. (After the Battle of Har’muth). Though war itself remains much the same, the weapons with which it is waged have evolved. Airships bearing powerful cannons ply the skies, reducing the influence of mages and their spells. Long-range communication has brought far-flung regions of Lozaria closer than ever before. At the center of this technological revolution are the three Terran states of Darmatia, Rabban, and Sarconia, who have fought a near ceaseless campaign of seven hundred years in an attempt to best each other. The roots of their enmity lie buried beneath the wasteland of Har’muth, a place all three nations consider best forgotten. However, an ancient power sealed within Har’muth has not forgotten them, and the descendants of those who fought on that field must now take a stand to rectify the mistakes of the past . . .

Come join the adventure in Symbaroum, the acclaimed Swedish roleplaying game! Explore the vast Forest of Davokar in the hunt for treasure, lost wisdom and eternal fame. Visit the barbarian clans to trade or to plunder their treasuries. Establish a base of power among princes, guilds or rebellious refugees in the capital city of Yndaros. Or survive encounters with Arch Trolls, dark-minded Blight Beasts and undead warlords. But whatever you do, never ignore the warnings spoken by the wardens of the forest: tread carefully and do not disturb the ruins of old, for the dark deep of Davokar is about to awaken. Made in Sweden

This vigorously-researched publication for advanced graduate students and fellow scholars of the Chinese Pure Land tradition (Jingtu famen) in the wider context of Chinese Buddhism extends the horizon opened up by recent leading scholars to reconstruct a more insightful understanding of the Jingtu famen and the notion of zong. Focusing on previously unstudied writings of Sheng'an Shixian 省庵實賢 (1686–1734), the findings support the argument that the Jingtu famen is an advanced form of Mahāyānist meditation rooted in the Mādhyamika and Yogācāra traditions. The original English translation of Master Shixian’s writings provided also paves the way for other researchers to conduct new and extended studies.

"What, if anything, is Esoteric Pure Land Buddhism? In 1224, the medieval Japanese scholar-monk Dohan (1179-1252) composed The Compendium on Esoteric Mindfulness of Buddha (Himitsu nenbutsu sho), which begins with another seemingly simple question: Why is it that practitioners of mantra and meditation rely on the recitation of the name of the Buddha Amitabha? To answer this question, Dohan explored diverse areas of study spanning the whole of the East Asian Mahayana Buddhist tradition. Although contemporary scholars often study Esoteric Buddhism and Pure Land Buddhism as if they were mutually exclusive, diametrically opposed, schools of Buddhism, in the present volume Aaron Proffitt examines Dohan's Compendium in the context of the eastward flow of Mahayana Buddhism from India to Japan and uncovers Mahayana Buddhists employing multiple, overlapping, so-called esoteric approaches along the path to awakening. Proffitt divides his study into two parts. In Part I he considers how early Buddhologists, working under colonialism, first constructed Mahayana Buddhism, Pure Land Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism as discrete fields of inquiry. He then surveys the flow of Indian Buddhist spells, dharaòni, and mantra texts into China and Japan and the diverse range of Buddhist masters who employed these esoteric techniques to achieve rebirth in Sukhavati, the Pure Land of Bliss. In Part II, he considers the life of Dohan and analyzes the monk's comprehensive view of buddhanusmrti as a form of ritual technology that unified body and mind, Sukhavati as a this-worldly or other-worldly soteriological goal synonymous with nirvana itself, and the Buddha Amitabha as an object of devotion beyond this world of suffering. The work concludes with the first full translation of Dohan's Himitsu nenbutsu sho into a modern language"--

This teaching comes from five different discourses given by Mark Griffin. Griffin is a master of meditation and speaks from the direct experience of the state of Nirvikalpa Samadhi. Finally we have a westerner who is able to explain what the Bardo - the interval between death and rebirth - is about in terms that are easy for the western mind to understand. Mark Griffin is well-versed in the study of religions, spiritual traditions, metaphysics and physiology, and weaves this knowledge into his teachings. But of utmost importance is that he speaks with the authority of someone who has the direct experience, and is not simply repeating book knowledge. This book/audiobook gives a thorough explanation of what happens in the period between death and rebirth. Though much of this material is covered in books such as the Tibetan Book of the Dead it has remained difficult for the western mind to comprehend. Now with this fresh look at the afterlife condition, Griffin brings the subject into clear focus in a manner surprisingly accessible and riveting, without recourse to many Buddhist or Sanskrit terms. The books also includes 8 full color plates to help the explanation. Through profound states of meditation and during the process of achieving realization, Griffin has repeatedly had direct experience of the Bardo itself, and is well-versed in traversing its many paths. His talk comes not merely from study, but from this experience. In the talk we learn that of those who gain enlightenment, 99% do so in the Bardo Thodol. How to do this is the subject of this book - important information for any spiritual seeker indeed! The content of the book comes from a special study session (the Bardo Kunda) held over six hours in March 2007, plus a two hour question and answer session five days later, and followed up with a recap and meditation session focusing on the connection of the Bodhicitta and the Bardo given six days later. There are also excerpts from a question and answer session held in October 2001, and the recent question and answer session held at the Joshua Tree Summer Retreat June 2008. (Kunda is a Sanskrit word meaning "wellspring, a source of continuous supply". In the Kunda Series, meditation master Mark Griffin explains and demonstrates the nature and experience of profound subjects dealing with advanced consciousness in the human form.) This book is available in two formats, please choose below. The perfect bound book is 240 pages, and includes 8 illustration plates. Second edition published September 1, 2008, 8.5 x 5.5, ISBN-13: 978-0975902028