Parables Of The Middle Way

'Parables of the Middle Way' combines fiction and commentary to provide various imaginative ways into the core themes of Middle Way Philosophy already developed in Robert M Ellis's other books. The stories are either original, or adapted from a range of sources: philosophical, Buddhist and Christian. They include the story of a ship caught in a strait between two intractably opposed ports, an inside-out version of Plato's cave, a set of variations of the Good Samaritan suggesting all the other ways of doing good, and the early life of the Buddha transposed to eighteenth century England. Robert M. Ellis is the founder of the Middle Way Society, author of 'Migglism' and of the 'Middle Way Philosophy' series. He has a Ph.D. in Philosophy as well as a long-standing interest in fiction, and is devoted to developing new and more adequate ways of thinking that can be applied in practice.

"A departure at right angles to thinking in the modern Western world. An important, original work, that should get the widest possible hearing" (Iain McGilchrist, author of The Master and his Emissary) Middle Way Philosophy is not about compromise, but about the avoidance of dogma and the integration of conflicting assumptions. To rely on experience as our guide, we need to avoid the interpretation of experience through unnecessary dogmas. Drawing on a range of influences in Buddhist practice, Western philosophy and psychology, Middle Way Philosophy questions alike the assumptions of scientific naturalism, religious revelation and political absolutism, trying to separate what addresses experience in these doctrines from what is merely assumed. This Omnibus edition of Middle Way Philosophy includes all four of the volumes previously published separately: 1. The Path of Objectivity, 2. The Integration of Desire, 3. The Integration of Meaning, and 4. The Integration of Belief.

The Middle Way is the practical principle of avoiding both positive and negative absolutes, so as to develop provisional beliefs accessible to experience. Although inspired initially by the Buddha’s Middle Way, in Middle Way Philosophy Robert M. Ellis has developed it as a critical universalism: a way of separating the helpful from the unhelpful elements of any tradition. In this book, the Middle Way is applied to the Christian tradition in order to argue for a meaningful and positive interpretation of it, without the absolute beliefs that many assume to be essential to Christianity. Faith as an embodied, provisional confidence is distinguished from dogmatic belief. Recent developments in embodied meaning, brain lateralization from neuroscience, Jungian archetypes and the Jungian model of psychological integration are drawn on to support an account of how Christian faith is not only possible without ‘belief’ in God or Christ, but indeed puts us in a better position to access inspiration, moral purpose, responsibility and the basis of peace.

Some twenty-five centuries after the Buddha started teaching, his message continues to inspire people across the globe, including those living in predominantly secular societies. What does it mean to adapt religious practices to secular contexts? Stephen Batchelor, an internationally known author and teacher, is committed to a secularized version of the Buddha’s teachings. The time has come, he feels, to articulate a coherent ethical, contemplative, and philosophical vision of Buddhism for our age. After Buddhism, the culmination of four decades of study and practice in the Tibetan, Zen, and Theravada traditions, is his attempt to set the record straight about who the Buddha was and what he was trying to teach. Combining critical readings of the earliest canonical texts with narrative accounts of five members of the Buddha’s inner circle, Batchelor depicts the Buddha as a pragmatic ethicist rather than a dogmatic metaphysician. He envisions Buddhism as a constantly evolving culture of awakening whose long survival is due to its capacity to reinvent itself and interact creatively with each society it encounters. This original and provocative book presents a new framework for understanding the remarkable spread of Buddhism in today’s globalized world. It also reminds us of what was so startling about the Buddha’s vision of human flourishing.

The human world is wobbly wildly off balance. Everywhere you look -- from the halls of Congress to the deserts of the Middle East -- institutions and societies are riven by discord. To his crisis-laden situation -- one that globalization cannot correct by economic means alone -- philosopher Lou Marinoff brings a much-needed antidote to extremism, offfering hope and guidance to everyone who feels powerless, frustrated, or frightened in a world that flirts daily with disaster. Drawing inspiration from three of humankind's greatest philosophers -- Aristotle, Buddha, and Confucius -- Marinoff maps a route from chaos to order, a path whose signposts can be read in the perennial wisdom of these "ABCs." Marinoff offers us a way to travel into a less violent, more cooperative, and most fulfilling future: "The Middle Way". -- From publisher's description.

A rich fool. A wayward son. A good but despised hero. A dubious but impressive manager. A persistent widow who would not be denied. What do all these characters have in common? Jesus! Jesus wove His narratives around these wildly different characters to teach us about the kingdom of God. In a world filled with so many voices struggling for attention and supremacy, the voice of Jesus echoes through the ages in the timeless parables He shared with us some 2000 years ago. Jesus Christ skillfully used storytelling as a powerful vehicle for delivering eternal and timeless truths about life, eternity, faith, religion, forgiveness, pride, greed, and many pertinent subjects. The question is: Why and how are these parables relevant to us today? This series answers the question. It promises to be an exciting and life-transforming read. Come along! This volume digs deep to reveal the hidden gems in the following powerful parables told by Jesus Christ: the Workers in the Vineyard, the Wineskins and the Garments, the Talents or Minas, the Wicked Tenants, the Ten Virgins, the Unfruitful Fig Tree, the Two Sons, the Tax Collector and the Pharisee, the Persistent Widow, and the Importunate Friend. The parables centre on the subjects of stewardship, humility, and prayer.

The pinnacle of Buddhism's understanding of reality is the emptiness of all things. Exploring reality towards the realization of emptiness is shockingly radical. It uncovers an exhilarating freedom with nowhere to stand, while engendering a loving joy that engages the world. This path-breaking book employs the emptiness teachings in a fresh, innovative way. Goode and Sander don't rely solely on historical models and meditations. Instead, they have created over eighty original meditations on the emptiness of the self, issues in everyday life, and spiritual paths. These meditations are guided both by Buddhist insights and cutting-edge Western tools of inquiry, such as positive psychology, neuroscience, linguistic philosophy, deconstruction, and scepticism. The result is a set of liberating and usable tools for Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike.

The Middle Way is the first teaching offered by the Buddha in his first address, and the basis of his practical method in meditation, ethics, and wisdom. It is often mentioned in connection with Buddhist teachings, yet the full case for its importance has not yet been made. This book aims to make that case.