Teaching, Translating and Publishing Buddhism for the 21st Century
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A SACRIFICE OF MONKS
Historical fiction novel by Michael C. Owens
Now available!
A Sacrifice of Monks is a novel about Kongzang, a young Buddhist monk trying to survive the “Huichang Anti-Buddhist Persecution” of the Tang Dynasty, one of the largest religious expulsions in Chinese history that resulted in the near extinction of Buddhism in China, an event that reached its apogee 845 A.D., the year the story takes place.
Several of the main characters are historical figures including: the Tang Dynasty Emperor, Wuzong, who ordered the persecution during his brief five-year reign; Li Deyu, the Confucian statesman and poet who directed the persecution on behalf of the Emperor; and Zhao Guizhen, a Taoist wizard-priest who was poisoning the Emperor with elixirs of immortality and blaming Buddhism for their ineffectiveness.
A minor yet significant character is also Ennin, a Japanese Buddhist monk who happened to be pilgrimaging in China during the years of the persecution. Ennin's travel diary is one of the primary sources of information for this novel.
Vajra Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra
Translated from the Chinese version of Bodhiruci
By M.C. Owens
Now available!
DESCRIPTION
The Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra (more commonly known as the 'Diamond Sutra') is one of the most influential Mahayana sutras, and one of the oldest Prajñāpāramitā ('perfection of wisdom') sutras.
$25 (includes shipping)
$25
Mahāratnakūṭa Sūtra: 32nd Assembly
Aśokadatta Bodhisattva
Translated from the Chinese version of Buddhaśānta
By M.C. Owens
Now available!
DESCRIPTION
Aśokadatta is a long, narrative sutra about the twelve year-old daughter of a king who defiantly refuses to pay respect to a group of senior monks knocking at the door. Through a series of jaw-dropping exchanges, Aśokadatta eviscerates everyone from her own father to Śāriputra and Subhūti with the wisdom of Emptiness and the compassion of a bodhisattva. This sutra perfectly illustrates many principles of Mahayana Buddhism using a storyline that would be considered radical even today.