Buddhist Banker

Siddharth Parekh, a successful investment banker, faces two blows in life that change it forever. His father dies. Left alone and rudderless, Siddharth seeks out an old friend of his father’s, a temple Pujari, who takes away all his worldly possessions, and allows him to seek life as an ordinary, middle class man. Siddharth encounters people and events that are life-changing. But are the changes for the good? How does he manage without money? Isn’t money the basis of life’s happiness? What does Siddharth discover?

Siddharth Parekh, a successful investment banker, faces two blows in life that change it forever. His father dies. Left alone and rudderless, Siddharth seeks out an old friend of his father's, a temple Pujari, who takes away all his worldly possessions, and allows him to seek life as an ordinary, middle class man. Siddharth encounters people and events that are life-changing. But are the changes for the good? How does he manage without money? Isn't money the basis of life's happiness? What does Siddharth discover?

A catalog of the manuscripts presented by Brian Houghton Hodgson to the Asiatic Society of Bengal, preceded by an account of the donor, with lists of his works.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1882.

The renowned scholar and translator presents an enlightening anthology of Buddhist writings that trace the development of Buddhism across the centuries. Edward Conze was one of the most important Buddhist scholars of the twentieth century, producing numerous influential translations of his own. In Buddhist Texts Through the Ages, Conze presents one of the most comprehensive anthologies of Buddhist writing ever published. The evolution of Buddhist philosophy and theology is represented through a wealth of original texts, all newly translated for this volume. Covering the breadth of Buddhist traditions, this volume incudes works translated from Pali, Sanskrit, Chinese, Tibetan, and Japanese. An ideal companion to Conze’s essential text, Buddhism, this edition also includes a glossary of English and foreign terms.

The present volume provides an essential foundation for a social history of Indian Buddhist monasticism. Challenging the popular stereotype that represented the accumulation of merit as the domain of the layperson while monks concerned themselves with more sophisticated realms of doctrine and meditation, Professor Schopen problematizes many assumptions about the lay-monastic distinction by demonstrating that monks and nuns, both the scholastic elites and the less learned, participated actively in a wide range of ritual practices and institutions that have heretofore been judged 'popular,' from the accumulation and transfer of merit; to the care of deceased relatives; to serving as sponsors and donors, rather than always the recipients, of gifts; to (possibly) the coining of counterfeit currency. Taken together, the studies contained in this volume represent the basis for a new historiography of Buddhism, not only for their critique of many the idées reçues of Buddhist Studies but for the compelling connections they draw between apparently disparate details.

The Buddhist World joins a series of books on the world’s great religions and cultures, offering a lively and up-to-date survey of Buddhist studies for students and scholars alike. It explores regional varieties of Buddhism and core topics including buddha-nature, ritual, and pilgrimage. In addition to historical and geo-political views of Buddhism, the volume features thematic chapters on philosophical concepts such as ethics, as well as social constructs and categories such as community and family. The book also addresses lived Buddhism in its many forms, examining the ways in which modernity is reshaping traditional structures, ancient doctrines, and cosmological beliefs.