A unique though complicated investigation of Buddhism and feminism. Klein (Religious Studies/Rice Univ.) wants to initiate a conversation between Buddhism and Western feminism in order to tackle questions of selfhood. To do this, she juxtaposes what she sees as the feminist dichotomy between essentialism (self as intrinsic and universal womanhood) and postmodernism (all aspects of self are constructed) against the Buddhist dichotomy between the discovery of enlightenment (enlightenment is intrinsic) and developmental enlightenment (enlightenment can be acquired). According to Klein, Western feminism's emphasis on individualism results in the bifurcation of mind and body, obscuring the potentially fruitful balance between them. One method for maneuvering between connection and separateness is the Buddhist practice of mindfulness, ``the ability to sustain a calm, intense, and steady focus.'' Possible nonlinguistic states, silence, and compassion, she says, also have the potential to bridge the different levels of knowledge and to aid in the resolution of mind and body. The Great Bliss Queen, a well-known mythological female figure in some Buddhist traditions, emerges as important to Klein- -largely because there are so few female role models in Buddhism. But the Bliss Queen doesn't have easy answers to the questions Klein proposes. Repeatedly claiming that the conversation between Buddhism and feminism has the potential to offer insights to both, Klein uses technical language about Buddhist practices that obscures some of the more important discoveries. What does emerge is the falsehood of contemporary Western society's belief that an individual can be completely autonomous, with a self independent of community, a possibility that Buddhism finds absurd. In other words, it is possible to share an essential nature that is partially constructed by time and place. What promises to be a powerful analysis appears more and more to reflect Klein's own struggles to reconcile Buddhism and feminism, not accessible to most readers because of its technicality.
Pub Date: Jan. 12, 1995
ISBN: 0-8070-7306-7
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Beacon Press
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1994
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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