Language | English |
---|---|
ISBN-10 | 9781907486579 |
ISBN-13 | 9781907486579 |
No of pages | 256 |
Font Size | Medium |
Book Publisher | Watkins Publishing |
Published Date | 09 Jun 2011 |
Stephen T. Asma is Professor of Philosophy at Columbia College Chicago, where he holds the title of Distinguished Scholar.
Asma is the author of ten books, including "The Evolution of Imagination" (Univ. of Chicago Press), "Against Fairness" (Univ. of Chicago Press, 2012), "On Monsters: an Unnatural History of Our Worst Fears" (Oxford Univ. Press), "Stuffed Animals and Pickled Heads" (Oxford Univ. Press), "The Gods Drink Whiskey" (HarperOne), and the best selling "Buddha for Beginners" (originally published in 1996 and reissued in 2008). His writing has been translated into German, Spanish, Hebrew, Czech, Romanian, Hindi, Portuguese, and Chinese.
Asma has written for the New York Times, the Sunday Times, the Chronicle of Higher Education, the Chicago Tribune, Aeon magazine, Skeptic magazine, and more.
Dr. Asma is a founding Fellow of the "Research Group in Mind, Science and Culture" at Columbia College Chicago. The Research Group is actively working on a philosophical and scientific understanding of the mind/brain that properly incorporates the emotional dimensions of mammalian consciousness.
In addition to Western philosophy, Asma has an abiding interest in Buddhism and Confucianism. In 2003, he was Visiting Professor at the Buddhist Institute in Phnom Penh, Kingdom of Cambodia, teaching a "Buddhist Philosophy" seminar course as part of their Graduate Program in Buddhist Studies. In addition to Cambodia, he has also researched Asian philosophies in Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Mainland China, and Laos. He has also lived and studied in Shanghai China. Asma was a Fulbright scholar in Beijing in 2014.
Asma has lectured at Harvard, Brown University, Oxford, the Field Museum, Fudan University, the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, and many more.
His website is: www.stephenasma.com
He runs a YouTube channel called "Monsterology" for creative idea development
https://youtu.be/pNA2DmUInzY
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Many books in recent years have made the case for Buddhism. What makes this one fresh and exciting is Stephen Asma's iconoclasm, irreverence, and hard-headed approach to the subject. He is distressed that much of what passes for Buddhism is really little more than 'New Age mush'. He asserts that it is time to 'take the California out of Buddhism'.
He presents a spiritual practice that does not require a belief in creeds or dogma - a practice that is psychologically sound, intellectually credible and aesthetically appealing. It is a practice that does not require a diet of brown rice, burning incense, and putting both your mind and your culture in deep storage. In seven chapters, Asma builds the case for a spiritual discipline that is authentic and inclusive.
This is Buddhism for everyone, especially for people who are uncomfortable with religion but yearn for a spiritual compass. The author writes: 'I try to apply the Buddha's teachings to our current Western life-style, including the challenges of work-life, love-life, consumerism, and the search for meaning.'