This book constitutes the first major study of Indian Buddhist ideas about nonhuman animals and the roles played by animal characters in Buddhist literature.

Unfortunate Destiny focuses on the roles played by nonhuman animals within the imaginative thought-world of Indian Buddhism, as reflected in pre-modern South Asian Buddhist literature. These roles are multifaceted, diverse, and often contradictory: In Buddhist doctrine and cosmology, the animal rebirth is a most "unfortunate destiny" (durgati), won through negative karma and characterized by a lack of intelligence, moral agency, and spiritual potential. In stories about the Buddha's previous lives, on the other hand, we find highly anthropomorphized animals who are wise, virtuous, endowed with human speech, and often critical of the moral shortcomings of humankind. In the life-story of the Buddha, certain animal characters serve as "doubles" of the Buddha, illuminating his nature through identification, contrast or parallelism with an animal "other." Relations between human beings and animals likewise range all the way from support, friendship, and near-equality to rampant exploitation, cruelty, and abuse. Perhaps the only commonality among these various strands of thought is a persistent impulse to use animals to clarify the nature of humanity itself--whether through similarity, contrast, or counterpoint. Buddhism is a profoundly human-centered religious tradition, yet it relies upon a dexterous use of the animal other to help clarify the human self. This book seeks to make sense of this process through a wide-ranging-exploration of animal imagery, animal discourse, and specific animal characters in South Asian Buddhist texts.

Prophecies of the end of the world began to interest Lennart Wingardh in 1981, after reading Prophecies & Predictions Everybody's Guide to the Coming Changes by Moira Timms He found that God's ancient prophecies were revealed in the Jewish Bible and in the book of Revelation and were later on complement, very extensively, in the Qur'an. It is the aspiration of this book that the reader shall realize that the ancient prophecies are real and that they were given by God to provide the understanding that will help you change your life.

Get to know Clotho, one of the Three Fates, in this twenty-fifth Goddess Girls adventure! Eleven-year-old Clotho is always linked with her two big sisters. Together, they are all the Three Fates, with abilities to predict events in mortals’ lives. There are a few rules that the all-powerful Zeus has decreed for them, including a strict no-mingling with mortals policy. After Clotho discovers letterscrolls from unhappy mortals who don’t love their fates, she wishes there was a way to try and earn their respect. During a secret trip to the Immortal Marketplace—where there is always a chance to run into mortals, too!—Clotho finds herself in over her head as she gets swept up in a competition to celebrate the opening a new store. A competition where her identity as a fate could be revealed at any moment! If that weren’t enough, Clotho must face up to an old mistake she made several years ago that broke one of Zeus’s other rules: Never interrupt the telling of a fate. It could mess up a mortal’s whole life! Can Clotho manage to untangle the mess she has made while finding a way to bring the mortals and the Fates together?

Untying the Mother Tongue explores what it might mean today to speak of someone's attachment to a particular, primary language. Traditional conceptions of mother tongue are often seen as an expression of the ideology of a European nation-state. Yet, current celebrations of multilingualism reflect the recent demands of global capitalism, raising other challenges. The contributions from international scholars on literature, philosophy, and culture, analyze and problematize the concept of 'mother tongue', rethinking affective and cognitive attachments to language while deconstructing its metaphysical, capitalist, and colonialist presuppositions.

In a world inspired by karma, three teens encounter magnificent beasts, unforgiving magic, and epic battles in this propulsive and wholly original young adult fantasy. “Evocative of Sanderson, Pullman, and Fullmetal Alchemist, yet at the same time shockingly original.” —Rosaria Munda, author of Fireborne Aina’s world is governed by Toranic Law, a force that segregates people into upper and lower realms. It’s said that if the sinful lowers commit themselves to kindness and charity, their souls will lighten, allowing them into the peaceful upper realms. But Aina, one of the few lowers to ever ascend, just wants to go back home. Aina is desperate to reunite with her mother, hoping she’s survived the beasts and wars of her homeland alone. After failing to weigh down her soul with petty crimes, Aina joins a rebel group defying the authorities and bringing aid to those condemned to a life of suffering in the lower realms. Alongside Aina are two new recruits: Meizan, a ruthless fighter trying to save his clan from extinction, and Aranel, a spoiled noble spying for the powers that be. Before long, the rebels find themselves in the middle of a brewing war. On one side, a violent king of a lower realm is bent on destroying Toranic Law; on the other, the authorities of the upper realms will do anything to stay on top. Now the young rebels must face both sides head-on if they want to stop a conflict that could break not only Toranic Law—but the universe itself. Fans of epic, propulsive fantasies like Six of Crows and innovative world-building like Avatar: The Last Airbender will delight in A. A. Vora's ambitious, unmissable debut.

Leaving a loving wife and children to go to war is a difficult decision. Fighting for the better good, however, will drive that decision. Crippled by a bullet, Mason Caldwell returns home. Family will be only part of his healing. People he meets and adventures he experiences bring him strength, peace, and deeper faith in the Lord he loves. For the farm to flourish, Mason must rely on his son Mark. John, the adventurous younger son, finds a niche in law enforcement with a friend he meets on the streets of Crockett. Daughter Jennie finds true love in someone other than a cowboy. Who else is there in Texas besides cowhands or farmers? The local sheriff, however, has a quarrel with Mason, and things get very tense as this relationship comes to a head. A soldier enters the life of Captain Caldwell who needs to right a wrong from the time Mason was shot. A half-breed, Luke has also had a hard life, but love from a crippled girl may just be his redemption. As these folks move through their lives, sharing their respect not only for each other but for all humanity, we will see their faith crowned by love from their hearts and grace from above.